Saskatoon man spends life savings on efforts to save people in Ukraine

Saskatoon man helps in Ukraine WATCH: A Saskatoon man has been taking chances as he seeks to help those in Ukraine.

As the war in Ukraine continues with no immediate signs of ending, there’s still a lot of work being done to help, and one Saskatoon man has now dedicated his life to doing just that.

“As a Ukrainian, I felt that this was a personal duty. I felt like it wasn’t right for me to sit here and watch it unfold half a world away,” Brett Drozd told CTV News.

Thirty-one-year-old Drozd decided to pack up and go to Europe, a place he had never been. First starting work on the Polish-Ukraine border then moving into Kyiv.

“It is difficult, and it is life changing,” he says.

He’s helped evacuate people from danger zones, and having inside knowledge once on the ground he discovered a great need which he wanted to help with. He provided new body bags to deliver loved ones to their family.

“A bag is ripped or something and you can see inside it’s not pleasant. I found a supplier to send some body bags from the US,” he says.

It’s a dangerous endeavour and he has no training. His life is at risk constantly.

“The price is cheap in comparison to the price being paid by Ukrainians.”

Since last May he’s travelled to Ukraine a number of times, spending weeks there at a time. Financially it’s taken a toll.

“It’s cost me my life savings. I had saved for several years for a down payment for a house and most of that is gone,” he adds.

Drozd wanted to do this alone although he knows there are other groups locally doing good work saying, he’s not opposed to linking up with other Canadian efforts in the future.

He’s been able to secure some donations for supplies to take to the front lines through social media. His parents are of Ukrainian descent and are proud of what their son has been able to accomplish.

“For us, it’s surreal. I can’t believe he’s doing this, it’s amazing,” Heather Drozd told CTV News.

She admits it’s also difficult to hear her son’s first-hand stories from the front lines. Stories like the one about a friend he met in Ukraine, who was doing evacuations with him. That friend was missing.

“I asked him, did they find your friend, and he said he died. That’s way too close to home,” Heather Drozd said.

Her son is planning to head to Ukraine again in a few weeks and is ready to face realities that most Canadians like him can’t imagine.

“To see entire villages and settlements destroyed without a building left undamaged. It’s difficult to process,” he said.

Drozd has a Go Fund Me page and appreciates donations, which will go to aid. For him, it’s not about the money and he has no plans to stop doing what he’s doing despite being well aware of the possibility of not coming home alive.

“There’s a level of risk that anyone going into Ukraine just has to accept. Especially if you’re going into these eastern regions.”