As Katherine Paroussis speaks affectionately about her son, Dante Johnson-Wells, she says that one thing about the late 26-year-old soldier sticks out. “He had a heart for making wrongs right and trying to find whatever avenues he could to be able to have an impact,” she told CTV News Toronto in a recent interview. Those ambitions took the former Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) reservist to Ukraine earlier this year, where he fought and died alongside members of the Ukrainian military following the Russian invasion of 2022. Originally from Markham, Ont., Johnson-Wells’ passion for service began at the young age of 12, when he joined the Port Perry Army Cadets. From there, he completed the firefighter program at Seneca College before joining the reserves, where he served for seven years. Paroussis said that, during that time, her son was involved in several deployments with the CAF, some of which included NATO missions to support training exercises for the war in Ukraine. She said she couldn’t reveal the details of those missions due to confidentiality, but it was those experiences that shaped Johnson-Wells’ involvement in the Ukrainian war effort, far beyond his role with the Canadian military. “He said that there’s a humanitarian crisis (in Ukraine), that these people were fighting for their mere existence, and he felt like from here (Canada) we can only support so much, and that he wanted to be a part of supporting on the ground,” she said, adding that her son was compelled by the cause, despite having no Ukrainian ancestry himself. For years, Johnson-Wells developed and maintained contact with his military connections in Ukraine, with the goal of eventually becoming an infantry platoon medic due to his firefighter background, Paroussis recalled. Following a deployment in December 2025, he decided to voluntarily release from the CAF. Two months later, he was on a plane to Poland, where he would travel by train into Ukraine to the front lines. “It was really a big risk. But he was such a determined, smart, and well-trained soldier, that he was able to pass certain testing, and despite what people had told him, was able to start the medic training within the Ukrainian military’s foreign brigade,” Paroussis said. June 13 In early June, Johnson-Wells and his platoon were tasked with clearing tree lines somewhere in the war zone. Paroussis said the group had already lost some of its members by that time. While little is known about the circumstances leading up to his death, Paroussis said her son was shot at some point and died 36 hours later on June 13. Before he died, she said Johnson-Wells’ platoonmates carried him more than five kilometres in search of medical aid. “He wasn’t alone. And his comrades didn’t leave him behind.” Paroussis hadn’t heard from her son for several days before learning of his death on June 24. She said infrequent contact had become the norm due to the nature of his military work and she had been instructed not to reach out to Johnson-Wells unless he did so first. So when she saw an incoming call from a Ukrainian number, she was relieved. “I thought it was him telling me he was back and he was OK. But as soon as I heard that it was somebody else’s voice, I just knew, and I dropped everything,” she said, adding that she was with Johnson-Wells’ five-year-old half-brother, Michael, at the time that she received the news. The call didn’t come from a Canadian or Ukrainian official, Paroussis pointed out, but instead from someone who she described only as “an individual” who knew some “personal things” about her son only a fellow soldier could know. “I was really in shock. I don’t even remember what I said. It was probably something like, ‘Are you sure?’ Because Dante had warned me about some families getting exploited, and we had talked about certain code words (to authenticate correspondence). “But this individual knew some personal things, and this individual was sharing personal things that – part of me wanted to think it was just a hoax, and then another part of me, you know, listening to some details, (understood) that only somebody that was there would have known. He told me that my son was the greatest soldier, warrior, and medic that he had the privilege to work with.” She called the Canadian Embassy in Ukraine the next day to confirm the news. It’s Paroussis’ understanding that the person who called her about her son’s death was killed the next day as they sought to “avenge” him. Global Affairs Canada could not provide details, citing privacy considerations, but confirmed that it was aware of a Canadian citizen’s death in Ukraine when asked about Johnson-Wells. “We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones,” they said. Requests for comment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine about Johnson-Wells’ death were not returned. ‘I absolutely did not want him to go’ Three days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his country needed fighters, and that foreigners were welcome on the front lines. While private Canadian citizens are not barred from fighting for Ukraine, Ottawa advises them to avoid all travel to the region due to the ongoing conflict. Global Affairs previously told CTV News that it does not keep a registry of Canadians who serve in volunteer units in Ukraine or how many have been killed or injured in combat. When Johnson-Wells first told his mother of his plans to fight overseas, she admits bluntly: “I absolutely did not want him to go, and up until the last day, I still hoped that he would change his mind.” “But he was determined that this is where he wanted to go, and there wasn’t any stopping him in his decision once he made it.” Since the war began in 2022, Canada has provided $8.5 billion in military support to Ukraine. Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Zelenskyy signed a 100-year partnership declaration and drone collaboration during Zelenskyy’s official visit to Canada. More than half a million Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war, a senior British defence official said Friday. Ukraine, meanwhile, is estimated to have suffered somewhere between 125,000 and 150,000 fatalities. Funeral attended by hundreds A funeral for Johnson-Wells was held in Port Perry on July 26 and Paroussis said the service was attended by hundreds of people, many of them military, describing the scene as “beautiful and heartbreaking.” She said she’s heard from many of her son’s contemporaries and supervisors since his passing, some of whom told her they wouldn’t be where they were today if it weren’t for Johnson-Wells. As CTV News’ conversation with Paroussis drew to a close, she revealed that on the day her son died – nearly two weeks before she was informed of his death – something “strange” happened. “I was at the grocery store, and I just got this overwhelming feeling, and just started crying,” she said. “I don’t know if Dante was sending me a message. I don’t know. But it was absolutely that day.” While she says that the grieving process has been “devastating,” for both her and her family, especially young Michael, memories of her son’s kindness and heroism are helping to ease the pain. “I often have this overwhelming feeling that he’s been telling me that he’s OK, that we need to move forward as a family, and that he’s OK,” she said.
