Former Saultite fighting for Ukraine sends news from the front

Former Saultite, John Uschenko, is glad his wife and young daughter are in Canada and thankful for the support of his friends, family and those who have contributed to a GoFundMe campaign set up for his family.

Uschenko, a former steelworker at Algoma Steel, is fighting the war in Ukraine after moving there about six years ago.

As reported earlier by SooToday, he retired to a small village about an hour's Vespa ride from Lviv to live with his wife, Liliia Tsiupka and her family. 

The two welcomed baby Nadiia almost a year ago.

Uschenko is glad to report that Nadiia and her mother, Liliia arrived safely in Canada and Nadiia will be celebrating her first birthday in Canada with her aunt Sheila Whiteway and her Canadian family in Murray River, Prince Edward Island.

Much of the credit for that accomplishment goes to the family and their supporters.

"To my dear friends and anonymous supporters," John wrote in a letter made available to SooToday. "I wish to sincerely thank you for your continuing support. Money is not easy to come by for anybody these days, let alone donate to help me."

He credits his brother, sister and nieces saying, "Luckily for us, I have a great brother and sister, as well as nieces that are showing themselves to be very honourable young women."

John also says the GoFundMe campaign is a lifesaver and he is glad he consented to it.

"The expenses for planes, motels and food just to get to Canada are way more than any luxury vacation that I could dream up," he said. "Thank you."

Liliia's adult daughter Oksana learned she was expecting her second child en route from Lviv to Warsaw, Poland, to escape the fighting in Ukraine.

She decided to take her son Dem'yan to go and stay with her husband's family in Europe rather than make the trip to Canada. 

In his letter, John also writes about the conflict in Ukraine.

"As for this war and the end result, Ukraine will win. We already are but the world will watch as it (the Russian army) gets brought down almost to its knees," he writes. "Here, people welcome us (Ukrainian) soldiers as heroes. They give us anything and everything they can. They give us food and cook for us. They offer us hot showers and wash our clothes. Men voluntarily spend all day working on equipment alongside us. They run for parts and supplies, buying them themselves."

"Canada has shown itself to be a true friend to Ukraine and I’m proud to say that Canadians have shown to me personally that they support me as well."

He also says the friends he's made in Ukraine share his gratitude for Canada's support and for the support of Poland.

"I was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, and by serving here I’ve made many friends who say in a heartbeat they will fight for Canada should it ever be needed, without hesitation," he writes. "So you see, my dear friends, the world is one big circle and everything we do often comes back to us, full circle."

He finishes the letter by writing, "Your good deeds will never be forgotten. Yours truly, John Uschenko"