Canadians react to war in Ukraine, express fears for those caught in conflict

Russia's wide-ranging attack and invasion of Ukraine was quickly condemned on Thursday by world leaders and shocked observers around the globe, including many Canadians with ties to the region where the conflict is unfolding.

The invasion of Ukraine had been telegraphed to some degree by Western leaders and officials who warned that an attack was likely imminent.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 137 Ukrainians have been killed so far after Russian airstrikes hit Ukrainian cities and military bases, and troops and tanks moved onto Ukrainian soil.

Both civilians and soldiers are among the dead.

Canada urged all of its citizens in Ukraine to exit the country or to shelter in place if that's not possible.

"Your safety and security are now our top priority," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.

Those in Canada with friends and family in Ukraine could think of little else on Thursday, as they watched news reports and took in the information about the Russian invasion and the implications for their loved ones.

In Harbour Grace, N.L., Nadiya Butt-Velychko was hearing updates from family about the attacks in Ukraine — including in the area where her mother lives, near Hostomel Airport.

"She just sent me a video — helicopters, planes, missiles just going above [her] roof," Butt-Velychko told CBC News. on Thursday. "She can hear bombing, and her house is just shaking."

Rev. Mykhailo Ozozrovych, pastor of the Holy Eucharist Cathedral in New Westminster, B.C., said he learned that a bomb had hit the Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport — less than five kilometres from where his parents live in Ukraine.

"I thought my city is so far from where Russia is and from the border, and now just a couple of weeks later I was wrong," Ozozrovych told CBC's The Early Edition. "The invasion did happen."

In Montreal, Oksana Gerych worried about her elderly parents in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.

"They're scared," Gerych said. "But my mom said, 'Don't worry; don't panic. We will do whatever we supposed to do, and we just pray and hope everything will be fine.'"

Members of the Ukrainian community gathered in various cities Thursday — from Halifax to Vancouver — to denounce the invasion and to call on Canada to help.