(Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Saskatoon Branch/Facebook)

By Jaryn Vecchio and Derek Craddock

UKRAINE

Nightmare becomes real for Ukrainian P.A. residents as Russia invades Ukraine

Feb 24, 2022 | 2:00 PM

Some Prince Albert residents are experiencing a true nightmare as Russia invades Ukraine.

Anton Shaposhnyk was born and raised in Ukraine but moved to Canada five years ago where he currently lives with his wife. His parents and two of his siblings still live in the country.

In the words of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Russia conducted an “egregious attack” on Ukraine Wednesday night. Explosions have been seen across several major cities including in the country’s capital Kyiv.

Shaposhnyk told paNOW he’s been in contact with his family and believes they’re safe for now.

“My family’s not in a city, they’re on a farm in a little village. I think it’s safer.”

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He added they were caught off guard by the invasion. They believed Russia was only going to take the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized each area’s independence.

“(Putin) told everybody he’s not going to open the war in all of Ukraine… but he did completely different from what he said.”

Meanwhile, Taras Kachkowski with the Prince Albert Veselka Ukrainian Organization has been dealing with a flood of different emotions.

“I’m worried, I’m angry, I’m enraged. I’m all of that altogether, all at once. It’s something that I thought we’d never have to go through again and here we are.”

He added he has some friends in the capital city of Ukraine, which he worries could soon be littered with Russian military forces.

He hopes world leaders, including Canada, will act swiftly and send a message that Russia’s invasion is not ok.

“This is a terrorist regime that wants to recreate the USSR/Russian empire under this madman’s control. He’s not going to stop at Ukraine, and he has to be stopped,” he said. “The world needs to come together and do what’s necessary, including sharp sanctions and declaring the Russia Rogue State and Putin a terrorist in charge.”

“The time for hand ringing and trying to distance oneself from this is over, it’s happening, whether you want to (believe it) or not, and the world needs to react strongly to deter it.”

On Thursday, Trudeau announced a slew of economic sanctions against Russia which will target the country’s elite, members of the Russian Security Council, and key cabinet ministers.

He announced the federal government is prioritizing immigration applications for Ukrainians who want to come to Canada and is launching a telephone line for anyone who has any urgent questions about immigrating from Ukraine.

Canada has also arranged for the safe passage of any Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families still in Ukraine through land borders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova.

–With files from The Canadian Press

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow