Victoria man in Ukraine fears city he travelled to will soon be bombed
From a small apartment in an undisclosed neighbourhood of Lviv, Ukraine, Mark Preston-Horin recounts the moment he entered into the war-torn nation.
"I remember when I crossed the border into Ukraine," said Preston-Horin, of Victoria, B.C.
"There was literally four or five thousand people in a queue to get out. I was the only one walking in," he said.
The Vancouver Island man with deep family ties to Ukraine left Canada on March 5.
Medical expertise made Preston-Horin think he would be in high demand in Ukraine, but on the ground and amid the chaos of war his assumptions have been proven wrong.
"It's tough to be here and knowing my hands are tied. It's really, really tough," he told CTV News Vancouver Island on Friday.
Since he arrived in Lviv, he has been trying to help in anyway he can, but he says because he is not a Ukrainian national his attempts are being thwarted.
"If you want to join the army you need to sign into the legion. If you sign into the legion you sign a contract with no closed date. You can't leave until they tell you," said Preston-Horin.
Unwilling to be held in Ukraine by a military contract, he turned to hospitals to aid the Ukrainian people.
Hospitals have also told him that because he isn’t a national he isn’t needed. Now, Preston-Horin has turned to government-backed volunteer forces outside the military sphere.
He says he is giving one group any support he can, but would not go into detail about the groups supported by the Ukrainian military.
Mark Preston-Horin, of Victoria, is pictured in Ukraine over Zoom. March 11, 2022 (CTV News)
Lviv is a small city in western Ukrainian, not far from the border to Poland.
Mark chose the location because it was a bastion for refugees needing help, and that it was expected to be spared from the horrors of war.
His expectations are now proving to be wrong.
"We are expecting to have some bombs and missiles in the next few days," he said on a Zoom call Friday.
As Russian forces amp up attacks and begin to target military airfields in western Ukraine, Mark says he is faced with a choice he never wanted to make.
"It's going to get to the point where it's pick up a gun or head to the border," said Preston-Horin.
"I'm not looking forward to that decision."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Calgary police to release more details on pro-Palestinian protest
Details on arrests, tickets and charges against a number of pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at the University of Calgary will be released on Friday, police say,
Her SUV was stolen in Montreal. A Good Samaritan on Facebook helped her get it back
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.