Ukrainian refugee family ready to start new life in Manitoba
A Ukrainian refugee is excited to begin a new life in Manitoba after escaping the war in Ukraine with her family and reuniting with her sister in Winnipeg Sunday.
Iryna Redkina and her husband, two daughters, 17-month-old grandson, and two dogs were greeted at the Winnipeg airport by her sister Svitlana Maksymovych and husband Jan Chalmers, who sponsored the family’s escape from the city of Kherson in south Ukraine.
Maksymovych says it was a long and difficult journey, but worth it.
“We couldn’t sleep at night when [the fighting] started,” she told CTV News Winnipeg. “We started to support them right away.”
That support meant sending money overseas to help get the family out of the Russia/Ukraine warzone.
It took three attempts before they were able to escape.
The first time they were turned back because the fighting was too dangerous, while the second attempt saw them fall victim to an online scam.
Finally, on her daughter’s birthday of April 14, Redkina’s family escaped from Ukraine to Muldova, where they stayed in a hotel for 10 days. From there, they went to a small apartment in Romania where they’ve been waiting for the past few months for their Canadian visas to go through.
Redkina’s husband was not able to leave with his family, but was able to find another way out.
An emotional Maksymovych, translating for her sister, said they are relieved to finally be safe in Canada.
“I’m sure when we bring them home to our [Somerset, Man.) farm, and they hear peace and quiet, it will be like a fairy tale to them.”
Maksymovych says they will support the family while they learn English, find work, and a home of their own in Manitoba
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.