Stories of Ukrainian students killed during war part of Halifax exhibit

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Oleksandra Borivska was on her way to a driving lesson when she was killed by a Russian missile attack in Ukraine last July.

The 18-year-old was studying international relations at Vasyl' Stus Donetsk National University.She had dreams of having a diplomatic career and travelling the world.

Her unissued diploma ispart of an exhibit at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, N.S., this month.The project is showing at more than45 universities around the world to raise awareness about Russia's invasion of Ukraine through the stories of the Ukrainian students.

Daniil Shmahli was 17 when he died on Feb.25, 2022.He jumped off the Irpin bridge to avoid Russian shelling.

Shmahli was attending Bogomolets National Medical University. He was active in extracurricular activities and known for his sense of humour.

Leah Krylova's story is less known. The 20-year-old died along with her entire family, her partner and several of her friends when a Russian shell directly hit her home in Mariupol. She had been attending Mariupol State University for Tourism.

All threehad something in common. They were university students with dreams and aspirations whonever got the chance to graduate because of the war.

Organizers hope Ukrainian exhibit shows 'the true price of freedom'

2 years ago

Duration 4:08

The unissued diplomas of dozens of Ukrainian university students are part of an exhibit that's featured at Saint Mary's University this month. The project is showing at more than 45 universities around the world to raise awareness about the ongoing war through the stories of the students.

Kateryna Rudenkois a 21-year-old Ukrainian studying at Dalhousie University. She helped bring the exhibit to Halifax.

She saidit's important for Canadians to learn thesestoriesso they can understand what Ukrainians are going through.

She describes the feeling of being Ukrainian today as "a string that is getting tighter and tighter around your neck."

"It's just who is going to be next, right? My classmate, or my best friend, or my father?" she said.

Rudenko, along with fellow Dalhousie students Artem Kichydzhy and Yaryna Tylchak, are Ukrainianinterns who came to the university through theMitacs Globalink Research Awards.

Mitacs, a Canadian non-profitresearch group, partneredwith the ministry of science and education in Ukraine to offer internships for students and post-docs from Ukraine.

Kichydzhy, who is 20 and originally from Donetsk, worries for his family's safety back home.

He hasn't seen his parents in three years. Although he has an opportunity to talk to them everyday, he says the war has taken a toll on them.

"They just became an echo of themselvesbecause of everything," he said.

Kichydzhy wants theexhibit to remind Canadians that the war is still happening.

"People are suffering, people are being killed, and you shouldn't forget about it," he said.

Tylchak, who is 23, came to Nova Scotia recently from eastern Ukraine.

When the war broke out, she decided to stay in Ukraine to work and volunteer to support her country. But when she won the internship award, she said she made the hard decision to leave her family and come to Canada.

"Everyday I worry about them, I check the news, I write them," said Tylchak.

There is a box of items next to the exhibit at Saint Mary's that could have belonged to any of the students aphone charger, concert tickets, boarding passes.

Rudenkohopes that people who come to see the exhibit gain a better understanding of theUkrainian resistance.

"I want people to know that we have been fighting for the right to be who we want to be, for the right to define our identities in the same ways as many other nations around the world have been doing," she said.

The exhibit is open to the public until March 22. It is on the second floor of the university's Atrium building onInglis Street.