“Quando sei attraverso l’oceano, quando la guerra non ti influenza direttamente, non capisci le conseguenze che potrebbe avere per il tuo futuro. Ma influenzerà tutti noi se la Russia vince qui. Ogni dittatore sulla terra lo è Guardando la reazione del mondo ” – Aprile, un volontario canadese

April is from Canada. Over two years ago, she left behind her peaceful life in the mountains to come to Ukraine—to war. She went from being a volunteer to becoming a soldier in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Today, she goes by the callsign “Babtsia” (Granny) and serves as a combat medic. Helping Ukrainians, serving in the military, and choosing her unit—these were all conscious life decisions.

“It’s not about how you die, but how you live,” she repeats several times during the interview, proving this conviction with her actions. 

“I miss who I was before the war—that ignorance, that ability to be selfish. Now, I’m a completely different person. I don’t see the point in going to a shopping mall, watching a new movie, or doing something like that when there’s so much I can do to help other people, to help my battalion.”

April left her children at home. They are 6, 10, and 14 years old. She speaks with them often.

“I truly believe that what we’re doing here is important for their future.”

April is from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is 36 years old. Back in Canada, she lived in the mountains, enjoyed fishing, and raised her children. Three years ago, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine changed her—even though she had no obligation to help or fight for Ukraine.

“I think the scariest moment was in Siversk. I was nearly caught in a shelling—rockets hit less than a block away. And I think that was terrifying, but I truly believe: it’s not about how you die, but how you live.”

But here, in the army, at the front, she is driven by a different kind of fear—not fear for her own life, but fear that russia’s crimes will be forgotten and left unpunished.

“I really enjoyed my previous life. But so much was happening here. I saw Bucha, I saw Izium, and I couldn’t move forward. Even in Canada at the time, I wasn’t enjoying my life the way I could have—because I wasn’t here. And now I understand that everything before this doesn’t matter.”

**”The World Is Watching”**

April wears a patch that was gifted to her by a Ukrainian soldier. The inscription on it reads: “I swear never to betray the Ukrainian people.” She pronounces it in Ukrainian, just like the name of her brigade, “Kholodny Yar.” She is learning the language. April has no Ukrainian roots.

“When you’re across the ocean, when the war doesn’t affect you directly, you don’t understand the consequences it could have for your future. But it will affect all of us if russia wins here. Every dictator on Earth is watching the world’s reaction, watching how people respond and how easily we forget what’s happening.”

“If russia keeps advancing, we won’t just lose soldiers. We’re talking about civilians who are still living through these atrocities. There are drone videos showing a woman shot dead in the street in Torske. These things are still happening. Look at Vovchansk. Look at Avdiivka. These atrocities—even if they aren’t widely covered—they’re happening. Civilians are still being tortured, murdered, deported to russia—and we don’t know what has happened to them.”

[https://suspilne.media/donbas/943449-sprava-ne-v-tomu-ak-ti-pomiraes-a-ak-ti-zives-kanadka-zalisila-vdoma-ditej-i-pisla-sluziti-u-93-ombr-holodnij-ar/](https://suspilne.media/donbas/943449-sprava-ne-v-tomu-ak-ti-pomiraes-a-ak-ti-zives-kanadka-zalisila-vdoma-ditej-i-pisla-sluziti-u-93-ombr-holodnij-ar/)

Painfully true…