Canada's new ambassador to Ukraine had an eerie sense of deja vu when she reached Kyiv last month.
Natalka Cmoc saw so many locals with missing limbs that it reminded her of working in Ukraine in the 1990s, when the newly independent country had thousands of soldiers returning from the Soviet Union's war in Afghanistan.
Her assignment is two-pronged, with a short-term focus on supporting Ukraine's immediate defence and security needs while countering all forms of Russian aggression. That often takes the form of meeting with her peers from G7 countries in Kyiv. But Canada's support for Ukraine goes beyond military help, with a vision for helping to build a greener, more democratic country.
She said Ukraine is getting a sneak peek of its eventual, massive post-war reconstruction in the Kherson region, which was flooded in June by the destruction of a massive dam. Cmoc studied archeology and did a series of months-long rotations during her undergraduate degree in Ukraine, involving both fieldwork and teaching locals how to excavate remains and use forensic-anthropology equipment.
After rounds of interviews and a job offer, Cmoc said yes. She's left her family behind in Canada, a common decision by diplomats posted to what are formally known as “hardship postings.”
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