Canadian leaves his life behind to return to Ukraine and help in the resistance

“What would be the meaning of my life if I stayed here?” In a few weeks, Vartan Davtian, a Canadian-Ukrainian man, liquidated 14 years of life in Canada to return to Eastern Europe and defend the country that saw him grow.

On Wednesday, Davtian bought an air ticket to Ukraine, leaving behind his work and a safe and quiet life in Canada to risk his life in front of Russian troops.

Wearing a brown t-shirt, he arrived at the airport in Winnipeg, in the Canadian Prairie region, where he said goodbye to his friends by dragging pieces of oversized baggage, full of medical supplies, clothes and some personal belongings to the checkout counter. All tied up with blue and yellow straps.

The 37-year-old says it seems an obvious decision to put his current life aside instead of sitting idly by as Russian bombs fall on Ukraine, where his family still lives.

“It's not right that Russia is doing this, and it's not right for other countries to stand (on the sidelines) watching” the invasion, he told AFP before his flight took off.

“The whole situation is not right,” he said.

Born in Armenia, Davtian spent his childhood in Ukraine until he immigrated to Canada 14 years ago.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, it quit its job in the oil sector and began making plans to go and help its former compatriots in the fight against neighboring occupiers.

As his departure approaches, he explains that he did not feel right to “sit still watching” what was happening on the ground from the comfort of Canada, through news networks and social media, while his sister, nieces, cousins, and other family and friends were in the midst of a war.

“What is the purpose of your life in that case?” , he asked.

He says he has only watched the war on television during his youth.

“And suddenly, you get up and see rockets destroying buildings and killing your neighbors and families,” she says in a broken voice.

He knows that it is difficult for most to imagine such a thing, especially in Canada, almost 8,000 kilometers away from the conflict.

- 'I've never done this before' -

“I've never done this before,” he acknowledges, referring to armed combat. “But when I saw the news and all that, I thought 'I'm not going to hesitate. '”

After a few connecting flights, Davtian hopes to arrive in Poland's capital, Warsaw, and from there cross the border into Ukraine.

It carries provisions and donations collected by members of the local Ukrainian diaspora - whose number is around 1.4 million in Canada - including medical supplies, drones, batteries and objects for babies.

Davtian also has a scarf in the colors of Ukraine, a kind of good luck charm given to him by his friend Liudmyla Artemchuk.

“She asked me to bring her back” when she returns, she stresses.

The countenance while everyone says goodbye is gloomy. Artemchuk found out just one day before the death of a childhood friend in a Russian bombing raid. Since the beginning of the war, civilians have paid a heavy price.

“I think he is very brave and this is very important because it will help people” in Ukraine, says Artemchuk.

In the province of Manitoba, as in the entire country, Ukrainian-Canadians have organized anti-war protests and collected donations and supplies to send to Ukraine.

Davtian spent the night before his flight with dozens of friends, all of Ukrainian descent, making last-minute preparations and packing some of the supplies to take with him.

He shares one last thought about his family, with whom he is eager to reunite despite the circumstances: “It's been three years without seeing them.”

Some of his friends wanted to join their journey, but they can't leave Canada because they “have responsibilities here.”

“He is my hero”, her friend Maryna Prystaiko recognizes AFP as she fastens the last buckles and adjusts the straps of her luggage.

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