Ukrainians make new life in Sudbury, Ont., as war approaches one year

Every Tuesday and Thursday evening around 30 newcomers from Ukraine gather at the Church Of The Epiphany in Sudbury, Ont., to learn English.

Olexander Radthuk is one of them.

He arrived in Canada – first in Toronto, and then Sudbury – last September with his wife, 10-year-old son and his brother.

Radthuk is from Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, which is located in the northeast, near the Russian border.

When Russia started its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Kharkiv was one of the first targets.

"It was terrible because in the night there was shooting, bomb explosions everywhere and it was a terrible day for us and for everyone," Radthuk said.

Even before the war started, he said he always wanted to settle in Canada one day.

When the bombs started to fall, he and his family made their way to neighbouring countries in Europe, and eventually emigrated to Toronto.

In Sudbury he got a job as a labourer with Rainbow Concrete and his wife, who doesn't speak much English yet, continues to work remotely for her Ukrainian employer.

In Ukraine, Radthuk said he worked for a large company that required him to speak English with clients across Europe. 

"Only after when I arrived to Canada I understood what is meant to communicate with native speakers," he said.

He is taking intermediate English classes and his wife is taking classes for beginners with other people from their home country.

"Maybe in few years later I will go to Ukraine, but right now for me [Canada is] my home," Radthuk said.

 "And I will try to do my best to stay here and be useful for Canadians in society."

Terry Kett, a former Sudbury councillor and retired teacher, had the idea to bring volunteers together to teach Ukrainian newcomers English.

"It was my idea, but people took it over and fortunately they've done just an amazing job," he said. "We're happy with it."

The group started to offer classes in January, Kett said. They are in discussions with the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program to take over the English-language instruction with their national curriculum.

Tetiana Darjrva attends beginner English classes at the church every week.

She is from the city of Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine, and fled to Poland with her family after the war started.

She lived with a family in Hamilton for one week, before moving to Sudbury where she got a job as a cleaner at the Hilton Garden Inn Sudbury.

In Ukraine she was a nurse, and she said once she learns to speak English she would like to update her nursing credentials in Canada.

A warm welcome

Sonia Peczeniuk, an active member of the Ukrainian National Federation in Sudbury, said more than 200 people from Ukraine have settled in Greater Sudbury since the war started nearly one year ago.

"I think a good number of them may choose to be permanent residents," she said.

"But others may well want to go back to Ukraine for the simple reason that they have their families there."

Peczeniuk said many people in Sudbury have welcomed the newcomers and donated clothing, and other necessities, and helped them find places to live.

"The feedback that I've gotten from some of the Ukrainian newcomers is that they cannot believe and are very grateful to people who've helped them who are non Ukrainian, but who get it," she said.

Peczeniuk said many of the newcomers have also started their own informal support networks to help each other out.

"So they've gone through the process so they'll say, 'You know, if you want to get a job here, I know that my employer is looking for someone.'"

As the start of the war approaches its first anniversary, Peczeniuk said she worries international attention might wane.

To recognize the anniversary, she said Sudbury's Ukrainian community is planning a vigil outside Saint Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church on Feb. 24, starting at 6 p.m.