Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced many of Eugene Lunov’s family and friends to flee for their lives because some of the initial bombings occurred close to where they live.
“… It’s bad. (But) it doesn’t matter who’s right (or) who’s wrong. It’s always people who are gonna get hurt the most,” he remarked.
The Ukrainian immigrated to Saskatchewan 14 years ago from the eastern region of Donetsk and now lives near Riceton south of Regina — a distance of about 8,500 kilometres. The Russian invasion on Feb. 24 prompted him and his wife to spend more than three hours on the phone reaching out to family, friends, and even the Canadian Embassy.
Lunov’s parents live in the port city of Mariupol in southeast Ukraine, while his sister lives near the capital of Kyiv. His parents fled to a nearby shelter when missiles started falling, while his sister fled to her in-laws because she lived beside an airport that Russia targeted in the initial strike.
Asked whether he was paying attention to the news about Ukraine, Lunov gave a terse reply.
“News? I don’t believe in news, to be honest with you because they’re not (honest) … ,” he said. Instead, he relies on childhood friends in various cities to tell him the truth about what’s happening on the ground.
What he knows is that some stores are open and some closed, there is no fuel, the internet is spotty, and many people don’t know what to do. That is why he and his wife attempt to call family and friends often.
Another Saskatchewanian keeping his eye on Ukraine is Drinkwater resident Yaroslaw Lozowchuk, born here decades ago after his parents immigrated from Eastern Europe.
He was in Ukraine last fall for six weeks, where he and other business partners closed the investment enterprises that they had operated for decades because they wanted to retire.
Lozowchuk didn’t mince words when asked what he thought of Russia’s invasion of his parents’ homeland.
“It’s insanity. You got a psychopath (Russian President Vladimir Putin) that’s gone nuts. That’s all,” he said. “There’s no rationale (for this) … . How do you explain when a person’s head goes nuts? It goes nuts.”
Lozowchuk also has family and friends in various parts of the country. He noted that everyone had anticipated conflict for weeks, but many now realize war has arrived.
“If anything, the anticipated fear and anxiety and all kinds of chaos that the Russian leadership expected didn’t happen. And people are stepping up and they’re pissed off,” he chuckled, noting he’s heard reports from Ukraine saying Russian forces have experienced major losses in men and material.
“There’s a resistance, a very strong resistance. … I’ve always felt that Ukraine would weather the attack in a positive way and come out of this experience (for the better),” added Lozowchuk. “Everyone’s on the same page. It’s a matter of survival.”
While millions of people worldwide might care about Ukraine, its people, and what’s happening, Lunov didn’t believe that that country’s government cared much for its citizens. Instead, politicians see themselves as “gods,” think the country belongs to them, corrupt it, and steal everything.
“They care about their ratings. They care about their money. … That’s what I see (and) that’s what everybody in Ukraine see,” he said.
When President Volodymyr Zelensky was elected in 2019, everyone thought he would be different from other corrupt politicians, Lunov added. Instead, all the power and money turned him into another immoral politician.
Besides corruption, Ukrainians must also be wary of Russian disinformation, whether from people who are paid off or those considered “useful idiots” who support Russian interests, said Lozowchuk.
“… Ukraine has not lost its spirit of resistance or fallen into fear and anxiety,” he added. “It’s do or die for them, and they’re gonna do.”
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