'My wife is a refugee': Maritime man works to reunite with spouse displaced by Ukrainian war

Nova Scotians lead efforts for Ukrainian refugees Some Nova Scotians are shedding a light to help Ukrainian refugees stay connected while escaping their country. Paul Hollingsworth reports.

A Maritime man is desperately trying to get his wife to Canada after she fled Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

Scott Stephenson says he and his wife, Anna Babkova, were living a happy life in Kyiv before he returned home to Canada during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I lived there for two years,” said Stephenson. “We were living together in Kyiv and I had to come back here to get vaccinated and then I was going to bring her with me.”

Babkova is Russian, but she moved to Ukraine 13 years ago.

She fled Ukraine when Russia invaded the country and now she is stranded in Turkey.

“It finally hit me," said Stephenson, who lives in the Halifax area. "My wife is a refugee.”

Babkova has applied for permanent Canadian residency and a short-term visitor visa.

“It’s very frustrating because I feel totally alone here,” said Babkova during a Zoom call from Bodrum, Turkey. “But I know that across the ocean, he really does everything every day.”

Stephenson has started a GoFundMe page so they can hire a lawyer and hopefully expedite the process. More than $4,000 has been raised.

"Normally I would not ask for financial help. However, desperate times call for desperate measures," he said.

Meanwhile, in New Glasgow, N.S., Chris Lewis is watching the war unfold from his home, and is trying to help in any way possible.

“Can we bring in Ukrainian families that know each other so they are not isolated when they get here?” asked Lewis.

Lewis launched a Facebook group to help jumpstart the effort. He said more Ukrainian refugees will soon be coming to Nova Scotia, including a family that will be staying at his home.

“They will be in town within the next 14 days," said Lewis. "It is a mother and two children.”

Lewis also has a message for his fellow Nova Scotians.

“There is a lot of darkness on this planet and we have to shed a light," said Lewis. "It is the light that can make a difference.”

More than 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine, mostly to neighbouring European countries like Poland, since the Russian invasion. Another 6.5 million Ukrainians have been displaced within the country.

The Canadian government will allow fleeing Ukrainians to stay in Canada for up to three years and is considering providing incentives for those willing to take in Ukrainian refugees.