‘I was just trying to save my life:’ Ukranian relocates to Fredericton
Global News
Julie Smith is helping Tetiana Kostenko, who fled war-torn Kharkiv, Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, to start a new life in Fredericton.
Three weeks ago Julie Smith and Tetiana Kostenko didn’t know each other.
But now, Smith is helping Kostenko relocate to Fredericton, thousands of kilometers away from her home in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
“I was scared,” Kostenko said. “It’s not about feeling, it’s about tragedy. I was running … I was running under the bombing so I cannot explain my feelings, I was just trying to save my life.”
Smith was already helping another friend – a translator for her in Ukraine while she was there working on elections – when she connected with Kostenko on Facebook. They met for coffee in Warsaw, Poland.
Kostenko had already heard of the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAMT) and she applied on March 18, just 10 days after fleeing war-torn Kharkiv.
“I only knew the direction,” she said “I didn’t know what country but just far from Kharkiv city.”
Kostenko said even Warsaw was too close to Russia for any sort of comfort.
Smith had previously raised $6,000 for another friend who is waiting for their visa, and decided to share a GoFundMe for Kostenko to raise funds for a flight to New Brunswick.
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