LVIV, UKRAINE - FEBRUARY 21: A peeling Ukrainian armed forces recruiting billboard reads: 'Ukraine Needs You . . . ' on the city outskirts on February 21, 2023 in Lviv, Ukraine. Fighting is raging between Ukrainian and Russian armed forces in eastern Ukraine as the February 24 first anniversary of Russia's military invasion nears.
Dmytro lives a simple life in Winnipeg — baking bread at a supermarket or playing volleyball with fellow Ukrainians. But it's different in Ukraine, where to many, Dmytro is just a draft dodger.A peeling Ukrainian armed forces recruiting billboard on the outskirts of Lviv on Feb. 21, 2023, reads, 'Ukraine Needs You.' The country has passed new conscription laws aimed at bolstering the military's ranks, a move that has been felt by Ukrainians living in Canada.
They didn't want their age or full name used, fearful of being targeted for fleeing the Russia-Ukraine war. In fact, no Ukrainian in Canada that CBC Radio spoke to for this story wanted their full name used., increased fines for draft dodgers to half the average monthly wage and ordered embassies to stop renewing passports for Ukrainian men living abroad.
"We do hear the constant screams of women all around, trying to protect this civilian who they don't know, but they are seeing what is happening," Dmytro said as he watched the video. "And obviously they are seeing their sons, they're seeing their fathers, they're seeing their husbands his place, because no one is really safe ."Dmytro, whose parents are still in Kyiv, worries their father, who is in his 50s, will be called up.
"I've never been in a fight in my life, so I cannot imagine myself taking some kind of gun or any weapon at all going against other people," Dmytro said."I never saw Ukraine as the place where I could be fully accepted," they said. "I love the country, but I never loved the government.
"A lot of help for Ukraine, Ukraine didn't get," she said in halting English. "So government get it and put it in the pocket." Trydid had sight problems, so the recruitment office told him he could do paperwork and similar tasks. He started working with the Red Cross instead, and eventually had laser eye surgery to correct his vision. Last fall, he re-applied to the military and was accepted for a full combat role."I want to be part of history," he said. "I want to protect my families. My city. I want to protect my Ukraine.
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