Winnipeggers watching Ukraine crisis closely

WINNIPEG – Ukrainian immigrants in Winnipeg are fearing their home country could soon be plunged into war.

“It’s just scary and I worry a lot,” said Iryna Shkylar, who came to Canada from Ukraine three years ago.

She worries her uncle and cousins in Ukraine could be forced to fight against Russia.

“We hope it won’t happen,” said Shkylar.

Thousands of Russian troops have seized Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. Ukraine’s military is bracing to defend the country.

Iryna Kichun fears her dad might be asked to return to Ukraine from Winnipeg.

“Because he is a Ukrainian citizen, he might get called in to go back home,” said Kichun.

Selkirk-Interlake MP James Bezan recently traveled to Kyiv to survey the destruction and meet with Ukrainian officials. On Monday, he condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin in the House of Commons.

“Russia’s provocative military intervention into Ukraine is completely unacceptable,” said Bezan. “The escalation of a navel threat and ultimatums (Monday) are absolutely abhorrent.”