Saskatoon family makes harrowing escape from Mariupol

Viktor Filipov, his wife and their two-year-old daughter have only been in Saskatoon for three weeks, but it’s a world away from the shelling, the bombing and the destruction in Mariupol, Ukraine.

Filipov used to work as an engineer at the Illyich Iron and Steelwork plant. He saw Russian soldiers entering the city sometime between March 10 and 15 and, when the  bombing began, he and his family were terrified.

“Especially when they started destroyed (sic) civil buildings, hospitals (and) schools everywhere,” he said.

Neither his home nor that of his parents was spared.

“In my home, shrapnel hit my house,” he said. “(There were) no windows in my apartment. But (the) apartment close to mine was fired upon and this apartment was destroyed.

“Two shells hit (my parents’) house. And after this, they leave their house too.”

With the Russian military severely damaging the steel plant, by March 20, the family made the decision to leave the city and head to Georgia. That’s where they applied for their visas, and waited until they could fly to Canada.

They had to leave behind Filipov’s parents and grandparents.

“My parents are now in occupation territory because my grandmother lives with them and she can’t walk,” he said. “Where they live now, there are no hospitals, no good food (or) water, (and) no medical support and other facilities.”

Filipov said he and his family are grateful they made it safely to Canada and to Saskatoon.

“There are a lot of people who support us,” he said. “I found (a) good job. We found daycare for our daughter. It is very good.”

He said he and his wife planned to come to Canada about a year ago, but the Russian invasion moved up that timeline. They’re now planning to apply for permanent residency.

After seeing firsthand the death, destruction and violence, Filipov said he believes the Ukrainian military and people are “highly motivated” and will eventually win the war with the help of Canada, the U.S. and other countries around the world.

Still, he has a message for Canadians: “I wish they never (know) war, that war never come (to) Canada.”