With her Kamloops fiancé by her side, Ukrainian woman flees warfare to safety in Canada

Katya told Calum at first that they were friends.

“When he was in Odessa we were texting each other most of the time,” she said.

The two stayed in contact when Calum returned to Kamloops. There is a ten hour time difference between Kamloops and Ukraine, so Calum would wake up early to catch Katya before he had to work.

They talked for over an hour every day and their romance blossomed. Before long, they decided to get married. Calum said the time dedicated to simply talking helped grow their relationship quickly.

Calum had a flight booked to join Katya in Ukraine for a March wedding.

Those plans changed on February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine — just as Katya was leaving Odessa.

“We were really lucky; God really blessed us,” she said. “We drove out of the city and at the time you could see all the gas stations, there’s huge lines.”

“It was stressful, for sure, because I just felt helpless. Like I can’t do anything,” said Calum.

Katya drove to her hometown of Chernivsti, where she started volunteering at her church for 12 hours a day, helping refugees.

“You talk to them, and they don’t hear you. You explain they can have lunch, or, I don’t know, there is a washroom — they’re just looking nowhere. They don’t hear you,” said Katya.

Katya assisting refugees in Ukraine. (Image Credit: Contributed)

“They’re just scared and [crying], and it’s very, very difficult emotionally. At the end of the day, it feels like you carry the emotions of so many people,” she said.

Initially, Katya didn’t want to leave Ukraine for Canada. Chernivsti was safe.

“I was thinking about this a lot, and God told me, ‘You should pack and go,’” she said. “’I opened this opportunity for you.’”

Calum flew to Romania. From there, he drove eight hours in the middle of the night to the Ukrainian border. He didn’t have an international drivers license and he couldn’t understand the Romanian road signs.

“I was so nervous. But once I started getting closer, the sun was coming up, and I saw some random castle, and I thought, ‘I am really in Romania now — this is awesome,’” he said. “As I got closer to the border I felt more comfortable.”

Calum had to park four kilometers away from the border and walk the rest of the way before the couple were finally together again.

The couple said they weren’t sure whether they should hug or not when they saw each other.

“It was very awkward because I saw him for only three weeks, and I’m crossing the border and I’m getting married, and I’m like, oh my goodness, what [am I] doing!”

They arrived separately in Kamloops on April 6, after being separated in Germany due to issues with Katya’s visa.

Katya and Calum are getting married on the May long weekend. They’re moving to Victoria in September so Calum can finish university. Katya said she is excited to explore Kamloops.

“It’s so beautiful. This view, with hills and rivers and lakes, and all of that — it’s just amazing,” she said.

She wants her friends and family in Ukraine to not lose hope that the war will end soon.

“They’re full of hope and just waiting for when… it’s gonna end. And we are hoping to come to Ukraine in the future. I don’t know if we would stay to live there or not, but I think God will show us,” said Katya.

“You can’t plan for tomorrow, you don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow.”

by Stephanie Swensrude

With her Kamloops fiancé by her side, Ukrainian woman flees warfare to safety in Canada

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