Local Doctor Grateful For Communities Support In Bringing His Daughter's Family Home Safe From Ukraine

Oleg Veselskiy, a doctor at Kawartha Centre and Peterborough Regional Health Centre, is currently in Poland with his daughter and her family who fled from Ukraine after Russian invasion.

Oleg Veselskiy, his daughter and her family. Photo courtesy of Veselskiy.

Dr. Veselskiy came to Canada in 2002 after he met his wife, a Canadian nurse, in United Kingdom.

His daughter Jenya now lives in Kharkiv, Ukraine with her husband and three children.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, Jenya and her family spent five days in a make shift bomb shelter in the basement of an apartment building with close to 50 people in it.

“As soon as I heard war started we started thinking about escape routes,” said Veselskiy.

Veselskiy says through the Peterborough medical community he has a lot of connections to doctors from and in Poland. A Polish doctor offered Veselskiy and his family an apartment in Krakow to stay in temporarily.

Because Jenya and her husband have three children considered minors, aged 13, 9 and two-months old, Jenya’s husband was able to leave the country unlike many other men his age. They also brought along with them their dog Edwin.

“I am grateful her husband was able to come because I don’t know that my daughter would have left without him,” said Veselskiy.

He says they joined a convoy of families making their way to Poland, and though the journey was long they made it safely.

“As soon as I knew they were safe I booked a flight to Poland and met them at the train station,” he said. “I brought them to this apartment and this is where we are staying now.”

Now that Jenya and her family are safe, Veselskiy’s main concern is getting them back to Peterborough, he says.

“We’re safe, we’re just waiting,” he said.

Jenya and her husband have the proper documentation to travel to Canada, but their children do not.

“They weren’t planning on doing any travelling any time soon,” he said. “The kids passports have expired, and the two-month old, well she doesn’t even have one yet.”

Veselskiy’s wife, who is still in Peterborough, started the application process as soon as they knew Jenya and her family were coming to Peterborough. He notes it has been challenging and wonders how those without family or friends elsewhere are managing to apply while actively escaping a warzone.

Now, after his home city has been ravaged by war and his daughter and grandchildren escaped, he says life seems different.

“It’s a different world, you start thinking differently about your life,” he said. “It’s not ‘how are you doing’ anymore, its ‘are you alive?’. My daughter worries for her friends that didn’t leave.”

Still, after everything they have been through, Veselkiy says he is grateful.

“It’s incredible, it’s tragic, it’s emotional, but its also unbelievable seeing all the people willing to help,” he said. “People in Peterborough have been unbelievably supportive, we don’t know what to do with all of this support.”

Veselskiy’s coworker started a GoFundMe that will help Jenya and her family restart their lives in Peterborough. He says coworkers have been bringing clothes for the baby and his wife is updating him daily with baby items that are being delivered.

“It has been a difficult but also a grateful time. We could complain about things going bad, but other people have it worse.”

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