3 Ukrainian families reflect on life in Winnipeg since escaping war, wonder what comes next
Manitoba government says roughly 13,200 provincial health cards issued to Ukrainians fleeing war
In the year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, thousands of people arrived in Manitoba after leaving their homes and lives behind to flee the war.
Some have already returned to Europe. Others are hoping to stay in Canada permanently. Then there are those, like Olena Gordiyenko, who are still facing uncertainty around what comes next.
"Of course my heart is in Ukraine," she said, sitting in her new apartment located near the University of Manitoba where she's working on a one-year contract.
Gordiyenko arrived in Winnipeg with her nine-year-old daughter Anna last September.
A provincial spokesperson said Tuesday more than 17,200 Ukrainians have presented to Manitoba's reception and welcoming centre since the start of the war. Roughly 13,200 provincial health cards have been issued.
The federal government launched the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel program last March, which allowed Ukrainians to come to Canada quickly to work or study for up to three years. Those who want to become permanent residents may be able to apply for other programs, the government says.
Gordiyenko said she wasn't planning to leave Ukraine. She had her family, a home and a good job in Zaporizhzhia, where she's from.
"Everything was perfect and I was absolutely happy," she said of her life in Ukraine. "Now I understand it, that I was absolutely happy because I've had the chance to compare."
When the war started everything changed. Gordiyenko and her family made the decision for herself and Anna to leave Ukraine, while her husband and 21-year-old son stayed behind.
Though there are exceptions, men between the ages of 18 and 60 were barred from leaving Ukraine. Her son is currently finishing his university studies online.
"It was very difficult to make a choice, but ... this decision was made by our family together," said Gordiyenko.
"The main thing was that my daughter, now, she is safe. She is not in war, she sleeps OK, she is absolutely happy here."
Gordiyenko said her contract at the U of M where she's doing research and working as an instructor runs until September. She's not sure what will happen after that, or when her family will be reunited.
She has a friend in a similar situation, she said.
"We support one another and all the time we ask ourselves 'Are we going to stay here, or are we going to return?' Of course if war stops and it will be more safe in Ukraine we will return home."
'Safe, stable country'
Like Gordiyenko, Viktoriia Maslovska wasn't planning a move to Winnipeg, but it's where she's ended up with her two young daughters, her sister and two nephews.
"Me and my sister, we made this decision that we had to look for safe, stable country for living because it's not possible to have normal life now in Ukraine," said Maslovska. "Especially when you have kids."
After the war started Maslovska spent months moving from place to place in Ukraine, Poland and Georgia with her daughters. She arrived in Winnipeg in October.
Maslovska wants to find a job and is trying to build her own business creating beeswax candles and creams.
"We hope to settle our life in Canada because it's much safer and better country for living with kids," she said. "And Russia is far away, which is good. Like, even when war will be finished Russia is near always, so you never know."
Ostap Skrypnyk, an advisor to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Manitoba Provincial Council, said his sense is that most people coming to Manitoba since the war started are looking to become permanent residents of Canada.
"So they're looking for the best place that they can get a good job, decent housing" said Skrypnyk.
He said some were thinking of immigrating before the war, while others had no intention of leaving Ukraine.
He said he's also heard of people going back to Europe and Ukraine.
"Either they've decided that, you know, Canada, Manitoba isn't for them for a lot reasons. Or, basically they … can't make it here financially and they're going to go back to where they have better family or social support," he said.
Unexpected return
For Liudmyla Shykota and her husband Iurii, Winnipeg wasn't a new city, but it's not where they thought they'd be living now. Iurii had come to Winnipeg to get his MBA from the Asper School of Business, but returned to Ukraine after graduating in 2016.
The couple was living in Kyiv with their daughter Olivia when the war started. Liudmyla remembers going to work on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Russia launched its attack.
"But the next day when near my house was bombed we decided to immediately leave Kyiv," said Liudmyla.
"All my life has changed."
The family spent time in a more secure area in western Ukraine before returning to Kyiv. Then Iurii found a job in Winnipeg and they arrived in Manitoba in August.
Return uncertain
Iurii said like so many others, he wasn't planning to leave Ukraine when the war started. He believes many people hope to return to Ukraine, but how many will remains unknown.
"It depends on a lot of circumstances," he said. "How long this war is going to last, whether those people will have place[s] to return.... Many people now don't have places to return to."
While a year ago he said he didn't expect to be in Winnipeg, he wonders if there's a deeper meaning behind his return.
"This is a new chance," said Iurii. "Maybe there's some sign from bigger forces … maybe it's good place to stay."
Liudmyla said she takes English classes every day and is hoping to find a job here. She worked as a communications specialist in Ukraine.
The couple said they appreciate all the support they've had in Canada from different levels of government to community members, but Liudmyla said it's hard to be away from family, including her mom who is still in Ukraine.
"She didn't want to go anywhere," she said.
"She says sometimes she's crying, sometimes I cry too. But I hope maybe this year the war will finish and we [will] see each other."
Gordiyenko, meanwhile, said she's taking life day by day.
"I just forced myself to think that it's my new experience, I should do my best.... I should try to start from the very beginning and it's OK."
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