Ukrainian families living in London, Ont. reflect on the war and their future

This week marked the one year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine. 

For the almost 168,000 Ukrainian refugees in Canada, it will be a year since they were uprooted from their homes and moved across the world to escape danger and destruction. 

In June, there were a reported 10,000 Ukrainian refugees living in London, Ont. CBC News heard the stories of three families who immigrated from Ukraine in the past year.

'Part of me all the time [is] in Ukraine.'

On Feb. 24, 2022 Natalia Kedyk said she went to work the day the war began in her home country of Ukraine, because she "didn't know what to do." 

The 27-year-old said her husband, who is in the Ukrainian military along with her father, told her to take their four year old daughter, Khyrstyna, and leave the country the next day with other family members. 

"It was a full car of kids and mums," she said. 

Kedyk said she was the only one who had a drivers licence and she drove everyone out of Ukraine. 

"We went to the Romanian border. We decided to spend few nights just to figure out what we have to do with our lives."

Kedyk said she and her daughter moved around a lot before they came to Canada in April, which upset Khyrstyna. 

"She couldn't understand what was going on with us because it was like unstoppable. We've moved somewhere from spot to spot, from country to country."

Kedyk said her daughter has been doing better recently. She said they are still living with their host family, but planning to move into their own apartment soon. 

But Kedyk said, "Part of me all the time [is] in Ukraine."

She said she spends hours scrolling through the news, looking for updates on the fighting back home. She said she feels an indescribable terror when she hears air sirens, or when power outages keep her from reaching her family. 

She said she is always worrying about the war in Ukraine, but she puts it in the background to go to work and care for her child. 

"[I'm] just probably used to [living] with all this pain," she said. 

'Nobody knows what will be tomorrow'

Mykola Bilovol, his wife, Iryna, and their two children fled Ukraine last February, leaving behind everything and everyone they knew.

It's been seven months since they settled in Strathroy, Ont. and the couple has managed to fulfill a longtime dream of opening a bakery. 

Bilovol said he and his wife dreamed of opening U.Cake Bakery when they lived in Ukraine, but they didn't have enough experience or time.

Once Bilovol and Iryna were finally settled in Canada, they decided there was no point waiting to follow their dream. 

"We just decided that nobody knows what will be tomorrow and we have to do what we wanted to do before," he said.

But most of the Bilovol family's friends and family are still in Ukraine. 

Bilovol said his parents wanted them to leave to make sure their children, 8-year-old Oleksander and 5-year-old Polina, were safe. 

"They decided to stay in Ukraine, because if someone is, if everybody just moved from the country, there were nobody who can rebuild."

'Everyday I'm praying and I'm afraid'

Luba Zamorska left Ukraine on Feb. 28, 2022, with her eight-year-old son, Zakharii. She said she left behind most of her family, including two of her children. 

Her 18-year-old daughter, Solomiia, was able to join Zamorska six weeks ago, but Luba said her oldest son, who is 20, is unable to leave Ukraine due to the current martial law. 

"It's forbidden for him to go out from Ukraine now," she said, adding he is currently studying at university.

Zamorska said she still worries about what is going on in Ukraine daily. 

"It's our homeland and [I spent] all my life there and a lot of [my] relatives [are] still there in Ukraine. And every day I'm praying and I'm afraid that something going to happen," she said. 

In October Zamorska was hired as a supply teacher with the London Catholic District School Board. 

"They give me this opportunity and I am so happy just to work still with children," she said. 

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress is hosting an event called Stand with Ukraine: 365 Days of Resistance in almost 40 cities across the country, including London, on Friday. Zamorska will be one of the event's guests.