Ukrainians in Windsor fear for family in homeland while wider community collects donations

A rally was held Sunday in Windsor to show support for Ukraine, as attacks continue in the county. 

Some who attended the rally, held across the street from the Windsor branch of the Ukrainian National Federation, have family ties in the country and are working to bring their families to Canada. Others are doing their best to stay in touch with relatives who are in the country and the wider community is working to raise donations to help Ukrainians weather the crisis. 

"I'm really worried about them," said attendee Bill Moysiuk, of his cousins who live in Mariupol, a port city in Ukraine that has recently been under heavy fire by Russian forces.

Moysiuk said he has had contact with some of his family from Bukovina, who are assisting those fleeing Kyiv to Poland or Romania.

"What they're doing there is because they haven't attacked there yet, they assume they're going to," said Moysiuk. "They're assisting the people coming through, giving them shelter and then taking them to the border."

But he said he has not been able to reach his family in Mariupol.

"They're bombing it's on fire, so we don't know," he said.

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Moysiuk is critical of NATO's lack of direct involvement in the crisis.

"Not enough backbone," he said. 

A hard decision

Evgen Bosloovyak also attended Sunday's rally dressed in Ukrainian colours and flying the Ukrainian flag. He said he knows of two families that are trying to come to Windsor, some of whom are in Kyiv.

"They are afraid of coming, this is big changes for them but luckily for them, they have family that will support them and we're open, fully, just to give them everything that they want," said Bosloovyak.

"I will try to help them and me my sister and other relatives in Canada are ready to accept them and help them as much as we can." 

He said he had brothers-in-law that would not be allowed to leave which is devastating, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy banned men of military age, 18 to 60, from leaving the country. But Bosloovyak's other relatives would be able to make the trip by plane out of a country like Poland or Moldova.

"It's hard but at least the kids are going to be safe," he said. "Some are uncertain about leaving their husbands behind -- it's a hard decision they have to make as a family."

Local donations

Meanwhile, a local drive to generate donations of essential items, including medical items, are being collected at the Ukrainian National Federation (UNF) on Ottawa street. 

The best way to give cash, according to Maria Kis who is with UNF, is to give to the Red Cross, because the federal government is matching those donations.