Ukrainian refugee family ready to start new life in Manitoba
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
Well-known Brampton, Ont. real estate agent, media personality savagely attacked outside home
A well-known real estate agent and media personality in Brampton, Ont. was viciously attacked in broad daylight in his own driveway by three men, two of whom appeared to be wielding an axe and a machete.

Man pleads guilty to threatening prime minister during Cambridge campaign stop
A man has pleaded guilty to uttering a threat against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a campaign stop in Cambridge last year.
Doctors call for action as growing number of Canadians dying from common food preservative
Doctors are among those calling for tighter regulation of sodium nitrite as a growing number of Canadians are dying after intentionally ingesting unsafe quantities of the common food preservative in its pure form.
Dutch farmer protests and what's happening in Canada, explained
The ongoing protests in the Netherlands, by farmers opposed to their government’s plan to slash nitrogen oxide emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, have drawn attention to Canadian farmers’ concerns over an emissions reduction target set by the Canadian government. But the policies set out by the Dutch government and the Canadian government are fundamentally different, experts say.
Police seize handguns, drugs in alleged Ontario, U.S. criminal takedown
Police in Ontario say they have taken down a criminal network they allege trafficked cocaine and fentanyl and smuggled guns into Canada from the U.S.
Donald Trump 'took the Fifth.' What does it actually mean?
Former U.S. President Donald Trump showed up Wednesday for questioning under oath in New York's civil investigation into his business practices. But he quickly made clear he wouldn't be answering.
Majority of Canadian children experience cyberbullying: global study
A new global study by computer security software company McAfee has found that 60 per cent of Canadian children as young as 10 have experienced some form of cyberbullying.
Two children at centre of Sask. Amber Alert found safe in South Dakota, suspect arrested
The Meade County Sheriff’s Office in South Dakota said it has arrested the man wanted in connection with an Amber Alert in Saskatchewan.
B.C. actress hit in the chest by bullet in L.A. shooting last month
A B.C. performer is recovering after taking a bullet to the chest in Los Angeles last month.