Ivan’s Story

Ivan, a 42-year old from Okhtyrka, Sumy region, suffers from a complex form of diabetes requiring 3 to 6 insulin injections a day and a specialized nutrition plan. When the war began, subjecting the city of Okhtyrka massive shelling and bombing, Ivan hid in the basement of his apartment building, eating whatever people were able to bring.

Ivan’s father passed away 16 years ago and he had to take care of his cancer-sick mother for three years until she passed away. He also took care of his grandfather, who passed away 10 years ago, and his grandmother, who passed away two years ago. He does not have any family left in Ukraine but his father’s sister and cousins reside in Canada.

On the tenth day of the war, strangers helped him flee by car towards the western border of Ukraine. The journey took them four days due to traffic congestion, a large number of roadblocks, city curfews, and the many rocket attacks that impacted the road they were traveling along. They also had to turn off their main path, as the city of Vinnitsa along their route was fired upon by long-range missiles.

For four nights, they sought refuge in different places with kind people sharing their shelter and food with them. Despite Ivan’s modesty and shy nature, he was able to flee to safety and is eager to reunite with his family in Canada.