Ukrainian family reflects on two years of war, dislocation and life in Ottawa

It’s estimated that more than 3,000 Ukrainians have settled in Ottawa to wait out the war against Russia.

Published Feb 24, 2024 • Last updated 15 hours ago • 3 minute read

Artem and Liliya Terenyak, rear, with their children, left to right, Yaryna, 9, Ostap, 3, Solomiia, 5, and Taras, 8. They’re wearing Ukrainian vyshyvanka, traditional embroidered clothing, for a photo at the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

Exactly two years ago, in the darkness of the day’s predawn hours, Liliya Terenyak’s happy life near Kharkiv, Ukraine, was torn apart.

A university professor, yoga instructor and mother of four young children, Terenyak awoke to the sounds of bombs exploding. She went to her bedroom window to look out on the start of Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine. It was Feb. 24, 2022.

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Terenyak’s home was only few kilometres from a military base in nearby Chuhuiv, which came under immediate bombardment.

Terenyak, her husband, Artem, and their children hid in the family’s cold cellar. Within days, all of the city’s shops were closed as Russian troops advanced westward.

“It is difficult to describe in words what we went through in those minutes, hours, days,” she says now. “It was a very tough time for us.”

After a week in their cold cellar, and with the children starting to get sick, the family decided to mount an escape attempt. On March 2, 2022, they squeezed into a small car — one son, six-year-old Taras, was in the trunk — and drove west through checkpoints and inspections, always fearful of being stopped or shelled.

They drove 12 hours toward Poltava, in central Ukraine, and stayed with relatives while they decided what to do next.

Worried that the war would follow them, the Terenyaks drove across Ukraine into Poland on March 7. There, they launched an internet search for a safe haven and learned about a program being offered by Canada.

The Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel offered Ukrainians extended temporary status in Canada; it would allow them to work, study and stay here until it was safe to return home. More than 220,000 people have entered Canada using the program.

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The Terenyaks arrived in Ottawa with only the clothes on their backs in June 2022. They stayed with a host family, Peter Joice and Ashlee Mulligan, who were among those who helped them adapt to their new city.

“We will always remember how kind and generous the Canadian people were and will always keep that in our hearts,” Terenyak says.

Three of her children enrolled at Pleasant Park Public School in September 2022. Meanwhile, Terenyak landed a job at Statistics Canada, while her husband, an engineer, started work with a local company that installs solar panels. The family has since moved into their own rented home in the Alta Vista neighbourhood.

Kharkiv was liberated by Ukrainian forces in April 2022, but the area is again under threat of invasion with Russian forces on the offensive.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Kyiv on Saturday to demonstrate Canada’s solidarity with Ukraine, now entering its third year of war, and signed a deal committing this country to a $3-billion security assistance package.

According the United Nations, more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians have died during the war, several million have been forced from their homes, and “scores” of Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia.

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Liliya Terenyak is expecting her fifth child, a daughter, who will be the first in the family born in Canada. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

“We’re still very worried about the situation: We have all our relatives still there,” says Terenyak, who’s now six months pregnant with her fifth child. It will be the family’s third daughter — and their first Canadian.

“Our children are really excited to meet their new sibling,” she says.

Terenyak says her children are thriving in Ottawa. They’re learning English and French while also taking part in a host of activities such as choir, dance, gymnastics and piano lessons.

She doesn’t know what the future holds for her family.

“We hope to go back home, but I just don’t know when,” she says. “It feels like it’s going to be a long time. But we want to save our kids from this terrible war.”

It’s estimated that more than 3,000 Ukrainians have settled in Ottawa to wait out the war. One of the city’s key settlement agencies for Ukrainian newcomers, Maidan Market, last week launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $60,000 to continue its work.

Maidan Market offers English classes, mental health support, networking events and other services.

Andrew Duffy is a National Newspaper Award-winning reporter and long-form feature writer based in Ottawa. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe

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