Ukrainians in Waterloo region beside themselves with worry for family back home

A mother with two young kids, packed up and ready to leave — but with no safe haven in sight. 

An 80-year-old woman, ready to hide from bombs in a nearby subway station if necessary. 

These are some of the stories Ukrainians in Ontario's Waterloo region have been hearing from friends and family back home, after Russia invaded the country this week.

In the wake of the invasion, members of the local Ukrainian community say they're losing sleep, glued to the news and beside themselves with worry for their loved ones so far away.

"I'm physically here but my heart is there," said Kitchener's Ulyana Zborivska, 28, who grew up in Lviv and moved to Canada at age 12.

Zborivska's cousins still live in the country, as does her childhood best friend, who now has two small children of her own. Zborivska said her friend in Lviv has packed her family's bags, ready to leave at a moment's notice if conflict reaches their city — though she doesn't know where she might go. 

"That kind of makes me worried even more, because when somebody you love calls you and they're panicking, you start panicking, too." 

Awoken to sound of explosions

On Thursday, explosions and gunfire were heard throughout the morning in Kyiv, a city of three million people.

Oleksiy Gryshchenko's 80-year-old mother is among the capital city's residents. Despite the chaos, Gryshchenko said his mother plans to stay in the capital. She lives near a subway station, where she can hide from blasts in an emergency, he said. 

"She was born in 1942, so she said that she is not really afraid of the war, and she just accepted her fate," said Gryshchenko, 46, who lives in Kitchener. 

Yurii Potsiluienko, 23, and Serhiy Yarusevych, 43, also have family in the area of Kyiv who they say woke up Thursday morning to the sound of explosions. 

"The situation is quite dramatic," said Yarusevych, who lives in Kitchener and is a professor of engineering at the University of Waterloo. 

The three men attended a rally in Uptown Waterloo on Thursday afternoon to bring local awareness to the situation in Ukraine — which Potsiluienko noted has been escalating since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. 

"It's very horrific," said Potsiluienko, who lives in Waterloo and said he hopes people absorb the reality of what's happening in Ukraine. 

"War in Europe is not something that we see in blockbuster movies or anything like that, it's real war."

Community members have also been gathering in prayer for their loved ones overseas.

The Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Transfiguration in Kitchener and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. Sophia in Waterloo both held special services on Thursday night. 

"The hope is in prayer … because at this point nothing I don't think is going to change [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's mind," said Rev. Myroslaw Tataryn of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Transfiguration.

'Need to show solidarity'

Members of the local Ukrainian community told CBC they hoped Canada would react strongly to the invasion of Ukraine.

"We need to show them our solidarity and our strength and just limit, cut all of their financial connections," said Gryshchenko. "They understand only force."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada will impose additional sanctions on Russia, targeting 58 people and entities connected to the country.

During a briefing from Ottawa on Thursday, he said Canada will prioritize immigration applications for Ukrainians who want to come to Canada and will launch a dedicated telephone line for those who have urgent questions about the process.

As for Zboriska, she hopes for her family's safety and to one day return to the country where she grew up. She noted her father passed away when she was 18 and was buried in Ukraine. She'd like to see his grave again. 

"Being here and thinking, 'What if I'm not able to visit him anymore?' That kind of makes me scared as well."