Edmonton families helping Ukrainian relatives flee to Canada

As Russia continues its invasion, millions of people have either already fled Ukraine or are actively trying to do so.

Viktoriya Bartlett hasn’t had a full night’s sleep in weeks. The Edmonton woman is constantly checking her phone, hoping for updates on her 75-year-old aunt Luda Nechaeva who is in the process of fleeing Ukraine.

“You feel helpless, you can’t help really,” Bartlett said, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues.

Nechaeva has had a difficult journey. She had to spend a little bit of time in a shelter in Kyiv. She brought two bags with her, and soon made her way to the train headed to Lviv.

“There was so many people that she was unable to reach her water or her food (because) her bags were… by her feet,” Bartlett said.

Her aunt was on the train for nine hours. When she arrived in Lviv, she stayed at an apartment Bartlett owns in that city. It also became unsafe, and Nechaeva started to make her journey to Poland.

When Bartlett posted about the situation on social media, a follower offered to help. A stranger picked up Nechaeva in Warsaw.

“It’s a huge relief that she is in safety, but there is another set of worries, like how long is the application (for the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel program) going to take?” Bartlett said.

“She never travelled. She never left Ukraine. She doesn’t know any other languages but Russian or Ukrainian… That’s a struggle.”