A former employee of the pro-European party of former Ukrainian President Pedro Poroshenko, who has been based in Quebec for two years, has chosen to stay in Ukraine to lend a hand to her comrades, despite fears of oppression.
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“Three things scare me: caught because I’m politically involved, there are chemical attacks … and that. [la Russie] Uses nuclear weapons. ”
Communicates with Ukrainians Newspaper From a city in the western part of the country, not named for its protection, he seeks to mobilize the support of the international community.
“I understand how the West and the media work, and that’s what I can do to help,” says “European Unity”, a former adviser to former President Pedro Poroshenko’s party.
Yesterday afternoon, Virginia Tronova was wearing a pink hood that she did not own. When Kiev escaped a few days ago she took only what she needed.
At the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainians, like many others, fall asleep with one eye open. She hides part of the nights, sometimes in a bunker, sometimes in an underground parking lot, transformed into a temporary shelter.
“Already, we are accustomed to the sirens of bomb warnings, her confident, drawn features. If we know that danger is absolutely inevitable, we will walk away from the windows or ignore them.”
Witness of history
In the past, Virginia Tronova has participated in other historical events in Ukraine.
As a teenager, he took part in the “Orange Revolution”, which led to the cancellation of strongly contested elections in 2004 and then to pro-European demonstrations in Euromidean in 2013 and 2014.
But despite his political beliefs, the adopted Cubes accidentally found himself in his own country at the beginning of the invasion.
She first went there to mourn her mother who died of COVID-19 a month ago.
She admits that the decision to stay was “difficult” when the bombings began, especially since her Ukrainian-born husband, Kadino, was eagerly waiting for her.
In addition, he has suspended his work indefinitely and it is unknown when he will return to the career he has built in Quebec since 2020.
“I am not the heroine. I just sacrificed the comfort of living in Canada to be with my people, family and friends, ”says the 39-year-old.
“Forty years in three weeks, I believe,” he says.
Awake dream
In the face of the invader, Virginia Tronova, underpinned by the unity of the Ukrainians, underscores the waking dream they lived for a week.
Thousands of internally displaced people pass through her city in search of shelter, food or medicine. Volunteers do everything they can to help them.
“In Ukrainian, ‘hello’ means ‘dopri ten’. But no one says ‘hello’ anymore. Not even a good day since last Thursday.
