Some Ukrainian families continue to live in fear for safety of family in Ukraine

Families around the globe and right here in Waterloo Region continue to live in concern and fear for their loved ones in Ukraine. 

A Kitchener resident, moved from Ukraine with her mom but the majority of her family still resides in Ukraine, and now for the last few weeks, she has many sleepless nights, hoping and praying when she wakes up her family is still safe 

Every morning, Ulyana Zborivska sends messages to her family. They live in different cities across Ukraine. Her grandma currently lives in a village in western Ukraine.

“Residents were told to hide at night because there might be air bombs. So I called my grandmother, and she told me, 'I might not see you again.' That hurts to hear coming from not just your grandmother, but anyone,” said Zborivska.

Other family members live in the capital, which she said is much scarier. Her uncle and cousins leave their home overnight and sleep in the subway station. Every morning when they return home, they wonder if their home will still be standing.

“This is so hard because most people who go on the subway know it's dirty. It's not a place for sleeping, it is a place for transportation, but people sleep there. They call it home for the night.”

“My cousin sent me the footage. He looked out the window and saw tanks normally driving on the streets. He's like, 'I see them driving, but I don't know if they will turn around and start shooting … it's scary.'”

Zborivska said those living on the east side of the country have no food, hydro, electricity, no water.

“A woman on Instagram was saying, 'my family has to heat snow to get water to drink.' It's 2022. This is not how it's supposed to be.”

Zborivska hopes her family will leave Ukraine and find a safer place to stay, but she understands it's hard to leave your home. Her dad is buried in Ukraine, and she has a hard time leaving Ukraine when she visits him.

“I'm physically here, but my heart is there.”