‘I have to go’: Vancouver man’s trip to see family in Ukraine turns into rescue mission

When Nazarii left his Vancouver home in February to visit his family in Ukraine, he had a sickening feeling that something bad was about to happen.

But he didn’t expect that, while in transit, his visit would turn from a leisurely trip into a rescue mission.

“The first two days were complete and utter shock, I didn’t know what to do,” said Nazarii, when he heard the news of the Russian invasion while on a layover between Vancouver and Kyiv.

Despite the violence, he decided to go ahead with his trip to Ukraine to see his family — only now, it had a different purpose.

Nazarii, who doesn’t want his last name published to protect his family, has lived in Vancouver since 2014, where he went to English language school and now has a full-time job.

He said he initially had plans to visit his family in Kyiv in early March, but he moved his flight up to Feb. 22 to see them earlier in case more violence erupted.

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He was at a layover in Istanbul when Russia’s invasion into Ukraine dramatically ramped up, in what would be the beginning of an all-out war between the two countries.

“I called my family, it was 4 a.m. in the morning in Ukraine,” said Nazarii. “I woke up mom, I woke up my friends and I told them ‘Go! Go! Go! Go! Leave the city right now while you can.'”

His parents, all four grandparents, younger sisters and cousins decided to evacuate Kyiv to a small village in the outskirts of the city — but they all refused to leave Ukraine.

“I tried to tell them to go to Poland and they said a firm ‘no’ — and I said ‘okay, firm “no” means I have to go back and do my best to defend you.'”

Nasarii’s flight into Poland and through the land-crossing into Ukraine, and eventually to Kyiv, took more than a week.

He hitched a ride from the Poland-Ukraine border to the capital and even experienced rockets blowing up civilian homes next to the bomb shelter where they were staying during the journey one night.

When he finally arrived at the village outside Kyiv where his family was seeking shelter, he doubled down on his decision to stay and defend his country.

“I have a moral obligation to be with them in the same country,” said Nazarii. “If my family refuses to leave, parents refuse to leave, elderly people, sisters refuse to leave, I have to go there and do my part.”

Nazarii said all of his family members were willing to stay and fight.

“You realize someone’s attachment to their home is so strong that they’re willing to stay, and say that at least my last action would be to throw a rock at the invader,” he said.

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Now, he’s been recruited as part of Ukraine’s Territorial Defence Forces, which doesn’t fight on the front lines — but instead, stays back to primarily defend citizens and amass and distribute resources.

Part of Nazarii’s current job is to collect necessities like radios, food, blankets and distribute them to those who need them the most.

“We are gathering their requirements and their needs — and we are building logistic chains to get them what they need,” he said. “It’s hard to do because the West-to-Ukraine logistics chain is very broken right now.”

That’s also part of the challenge his Vancouver-based employer, VoltSafe, is facing. They’re collecting donations of tactical, medical and electronic gear in B.C. to send to Nazarii in Kyiv.

“We’re able to land it in Poland and there are special routes that even (Nazarii) can’t discuss that get it to where it’s really needed the most,” said Nazarii’s employer and VoltSafe CEO Trevor Burgess.

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The company has given him as much time off as he needs to remain with his family during the war — and are hoping for his safe return.

“He’s just got such a big heart and he’s so honest and truthful, it’s been so tough for everyone here,” Burgess said.

Meanwhile, Nazarii says his worst fear is family getting injured and losing the land he loves to Russian invaders.

“We’re going to stay here, there are millions of us, especially in this city that’s the heart of Ukraine,” he said.

“We’re going to defend it, I know we’re going to suffer a lot. But this city is not going to fall. It’s not going to fall.”

He’s asking anyone who’s interested in donating goods or making monetary donations to do so at VoltSafe.com/Ukraine or helpukraine.army.