'I do see an end': Ukrainian Londoners reflect on 1000 days of conflict

Sofiia Boitsov in London Ontario on Nov.19, 2024. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

The 1000th day of war in Ukraine is being marked in London, Ont. with sadness and worry over a never-ending fight.

Sofiia Boitsov, 21, has called London home since fleeing the conflict.

Her mother has since joined her in Canada. Her father remains in Kyiv.

She last saw him this past summer during her first visit back home. Within hours, the war – literally – landed on her doorstep.

“It was a really, really big attack next to my home, just a five-minute walk from me,” Sofiia recalled during an interview with CTV News London. “And it was a children's hospital and yeah, it was tough.”

It’s a scene hundreds of transplanted Ukrainians in the London region know all too well.

Sofiia Boitsov, seen in happier times with her parents in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Source: Submitted)

Even those who have lived their lives in Canada share connections to the fight.

For a past president of the London Ukrainian Centre, that tie is tragic.

“The war hit me personally earlier this year when the 33-year-old son of one of my cousins was actually killed in battle,” he recalled with sadness.

With other family members and other Ukrainians still in harm's way, Peter Kryworuk is imploring western democracies to increase their support.

“Even in the United States, there is support for Ukraine. But even if that support should fall, then the rest of the world, Europe, the UK, Canada, and other friends and allies of Ukraine will have to come forward, and they'll have to do what they can to fill the gap,” he said.

Peter Kryworuk, a past president of the London Ukrainian Centre, on Nov.19, 2024. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

Sofiia added it must happen.

She is tired after 1000 days of sleepless nights worrying about her cousin fighting on the frontline, her father battling to keep their home in Kyiv, and the overall future of her nation.

“Because that's all I'm thinking about. Like my exam season, it doesn't matter what's happening. I'm constantly thinking about Ukraine. And I wake up and I see the news right away. Just by default. I cannot do anything else,” she said.

Except hope. The hope the conflict will finally come to a close.

“I do see and end," shared an optimistic Peter. “And the reason why I see an end, and I see a positive end, is that the resolve of the Ukrainian people is very, very clear.”

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian rocket attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Source: Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)