The president of the Ukrainian-Canadian Cultural Society of Vancouver Island said the death of a Vancouver Island man in the war in Ukraine has brought the reality of war very close to home.
“We may think sometimes that it is happening somewhere far away, but it is not. It comes closer and closer,” said Andriy Fabrikov. “We have many newcomers on the Island fleeing war whose family members are at the frontlines. And I am afraid to hear that someone will come to us with that grief one day.”
Grygorii (Greg) Tsekhmistrenko, a Canadian citizen and resident of Port Alice, was killed in battle this week.
Tsekhmistrenko, a medical student fighting with Ukrainian forces died on Sunday near the city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region.
“I didn’t know Grygorii in person but realization that war casualties are taking a toll on people who left a safe place like Canada and are part of your neighbourhood is devastating,” Fabrikov said.
Tsekhmistrenko, a medic and dual citizen, fought with the Ukrainian Foreign Legion.
Andriy Shevchenko, the former Ukrainian ambassador to Canada, called Tsekhmistrenko “the best of our two nations.”
“It’s devastating news for me and for many people who know this family,” Shevchenko told CBC News Network on Wednesday. He said he visited the family at their home in Port Alice, which he called “a beautiful place,” while he was ambassador.
“There was so much love and faith in this house,” Shevchenko said. “They wanted to start their life, their new life, in Canada, but this man Grygorii Tsekhmistrenko, when he felt he could make a difference on the other side of the planet in his home country, he went.”
Shevchenko said Tsekhmistrenko was in Ukraine during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and again after Russian’s invasion of Ukraine.
“He represents the best of our two nations,” Shevchenko said. “It’s courage, it’s empathy, it’s passion for freedom. He was a proud Ukrainian Canadian and I think our two nations have to honour what he has done and to honour his contribution.
