It was a sleepless night for Sergii Biletskyi. His parents live in Zaporizhzhia, where Russian attacks resulted in a fire at the nuclear power plant.
“I lost any hope for any humanity from their side. There are so many civilians who have died because of artillery and shootings from the air, but now also nuclear threat is upon us,” said Biletskyi on Friday.
Ukranian and UN officials said the radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remain unchanged following shelling and a fire.
The Calgary man is thankful his parents are unharmed but it “tears him apart” to not be in the country he was born in at this time.
“That’s what’s breaking my heart. One side of me wants to go and help and another part, of course I can’t leave my family behind. Everybody is scared of death,” Biletskyi said.
“It’s heartbreaking.
“From one side, I feel blessed being here in Canada. I love Canada. I am happy that my kid is safe here and at the same time my heart breaks for what is happening in Ukraine,”
Biletskyi is doing his best to help from Calgary by donating money. And so is Village Ice Cream.
On Sunday, the popular ice cream shop will be donating all the money from sales to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, bringing medical and humanitarian support to Ukraine.
Tetiana Friley is the co-owner. All of her family lives in Ukraine, including her brother is Rodion Ahafonov who is a tank commander in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Sometimes I’m even afraid to write him something. All I see is that he was active at 7:15 a.m. and that is how I know he still alive,” Friley said.
Friley has no idea where her brother is. She says he can’t say much for security reasons.
Friley says Ahafonov was injured in 2014 while serving in the Donbas region. She said he’s committed to protecting his country.
“He is so proud of protecting his own country. When I talk to him it feels so normal his job – his choice, but he’s in the military and it’s scary. When he is talking to me he just really believes that that is what each man should do. That is his life choice and he lives by it,” Friley said.
–with files from Aaron D’Andrea and Sean Boynton, Global News
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