University of Saskatchewan student Nikita Sereda remembers waking up in his apartment in Kharkiv, Ukraine, to the sounds of war on Feb. 24, 2022.
He was two blocks away from the front lines of what became a war that has now stretched into its fourth year.
“To have a war happen in the 21st century, in today’s age, it’s pretty much a nightmare,” said Sereda, who was born in Canada and moved to Kharkiv in 2019 to get in touch with his Ukrainian heritage.
Now, he’s a sociology student Saskatoon, and serves on the Ukrainian Canadian Students’ Union as well as the University of Saskatchewan Ukrainian Students’ Association.
Sereda said that leading up to Feb. 24, 2022, he knew a invasion was possible but nobody around him appeared very concerned — until the invasion started that Thursday morning.
“I lived in Canada for most of my life and we never experienced war like that,” said Sereda.
Sereda was in Ukraine for a month before he fled to Poland with his father and his father’s wife. Sereda flew to Toronto and eventually found his way back to Yorkton, Sask.
Sereda’s friends threw him a homecoming party.
“Mentally, there are times that I still feel like I’m back in Ukraine,” Sereda said.
Sereda said he developed trauma and paranoia as a result of his expirence.
“When war broke out, everything changed. Like you don’t, you don’t take life for granted,” he said.
“Your heart feels like it’s back in Ukraine.”
He attends vigils and other ceremonies dedicated to supporting Ukraine. His one hope is to see his family there in person again soon.
Danylo Puderak is the executive director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress of Saskatchewan, which has been assisting Ukrainians displaced by the war.
“A lot has changed in these past four years in the world, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that that Ukrainian citizens are civilians and those fighting on the front lines are dying every day,” he said.
Puderak said Saskatchewan is a province full of rich Ukrainian heritage.
“Every little small town, somebody can relate — they have somebody that has a baba, right, a grandmother, or Ukrainian food,” said Puderak.
Puderak calls on everyone to continue supporting Ukraine.
“The bully can’t win. The occupier can’t win, because then this threatens the other neighbours that are in Europe,” Puderak said.
