First charter flight bringing Ukrainians to Canada lands in Winnipeg

The first of three charter flights bringing Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion to Canada landed in Manitoba Monday afternoon.

The flight touched down at the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has said the three flights are to help bring approximately 900 Ukrainians approved for emergency travel into Canada.

The second one will leave for Montreal from Poland on May 29 and the third, bound for Halifax, will take off on June 2. Canada’s government has already welcomed thousands of Ukrainians since Russian forces first attacked in late February.

Manitoba has said refugees will be taken to the province’s Ukrainian Refugee Reception Centre to receive help with settlement after they arrive.

A member of the welcoming committee in Manitoba says “this is an important day.”

“Some of them have also seen just absolutely horrendous things. They’ve seen their homes destroyed. They’ve seen their neighbors killed or their own family members killed. So certainly putting them at ease putting them at comfort is number one priority,” they said.

The newcomers were greeted at the airport’s welcome desk, a centre that has seen almost 400 Ukrainians come through since the war began. But this is the largest number of displaced persons at one time.

Dimitra Malik says it was a massive effort to arrange the flight, but the work is paying off.

“We are getting help from hundreds or thousands of volunteers across Manitoba. We’re getting calls from remote areas from rural Manitoba from organizations from businesses from community volunteers who are ready to come for ready to host people and their places in their communities,” Malik said.

Mere hours after landing in Winnipeg, Kseniia Zinenko couldn’t help but think of her home and family still in Ukraine. The 30-year-old is one of more than 300 Ukrainian nationals who arrived from Poland on the federally chartered flight.

Zinenko was joined by eight other relatives including her mother, sister and son. She says her father and brother had to stay behind in Mykolaiv, a city in southern Ukraine, to fight in the army. Zinenko says it was hard for her family to leave their homeland but they felt they had no other choice but to flee Russia’s invasion.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland joined Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson in welcoming the Ukrainian nationals. Freeland and Stefanson boarded the plane after it landed and they were met with cheers and applause from the people on board. Stefanson thanked the group for choosing the province as their home away from home.

Freeland told reporters it was an emotional and moving day.

Two more federally charter flights are scheduled to arrive from Poland on May 29 in Montreal and June 2 in Halifax.

– With files from Alex Karpa and The Canadian Press