‘I am nervous, not worried:’ Saskatoon man from Ukraine offers insight into conflict

Vitalyy Kushnir has lived in Canada for the past 15 years. Before that, he spent the first 35 years of his life in the western part of Ukraine.

Now, the Saskatoon resident is watching as his native country prepares for a conflict with Russia.

Kushnir said he came to Canada to look for a better life.

“In Ukraine (there’s) a lot of crisis … I got sick of that,” Kushnir said, adding Ukraine is “never stable.”

That’s largely because of the economic problems that Ukrainian people face daily, he said.

Kushnir said there have been better prospects periodically for people in the country. In 2004, for example, he said the country got more involved with the European Union. But soon after, Ukraine’s economic prospects dropped and more people in the country became poor.

“They have not enough money to have a better life,” Kushnir explained.

He said people working in the country make about $300 to $500 US a month, or roughly less than $700 Cdn per month. Meanwhile, he said prices for goods are comparable to those in Canada.

“It’s not enough for good-quality life,” he said.

Kushnir said he also saw some economic relief and improvement in people’s lives before 2014 and up until 2018, but since 2019 has seen a decline in their well-being again.

In November, Kushnir took his three adult children to visit Ukraine, as they were only young children when their family immigrated to Canada. He said they travelled around the whole country.

During that visit, he said there was no activity in the southern side of Ukraine. However, he said the east was packed with soldiers and lots of police and military vehicles, with people checking the documentation of those passing through.

Kushnir is involved with a Ukrainian Christian camps ministry in the country. His involvement means he has many friends and colleagues still in Ukraine.

“I am nervous, not worried,” he said when asked about their well-being.

He said he notices when he visits that people in the southern part of the country are not happy with the violence and threat of war. Those living in the east, however, are indifferent.

Kushnir said they are used to war and “have no reaction,” having spent the past eight years exposed to it.

Kushnir said people living there are used to rockets being fired, and understand they are only in danger depending on the sound and direction of the explosive.

“If they go in their direction, they know what to do: Just hide behind, lay down or whatever,” he said.

He said “tension between Russian and Ukrainians (is) in a bad way because of war.” He feels Russia is set on Ukraine because of its creativity and history.

“If Russia (recognizes) they steal the history of Ukraine, that means no Russia anymore,” he explained, adding “they’re always using Ukraine to create technology.”

The situation has Kushnir frustrated, but he said he and others he knows still in the country would do anything for Ukraine.

“They feel confident, they will fight back, they will (lay) down their life for the country,” Kushnir said.