Sask. roots anchoring aid worker in Ukraine two years into war

Paul Hughes was born in Vancouver, lives in Calgary and did “a lot of growing up” in Lanigan.

But he hasn’t seen any part of Canada for more than 700 days.

Hughes is currently in Kharkiv, a Ukrainian city about 40 kilometres from the border with Russia. He’s been in Ukraine since March of 2022 – right after the war started – and founded the organization Helping Ukraine Grassroots Support (HUGS).

Hughes said he’s seen massive humanitarian need that dwarfs anything people might know in a Canadian context.

“We’re one of the few stable organizations in Ukraine among the chaos,” Hughes said.

He said his organization has had hundreds of volunteers working with it over the past two years, and now boasts a garage and warehouse in Kharkiv. Hughes’ 21-year-old son Mac also runs HUGS in a different part of Ukraine.

The organization, Hughes explained, has a program that works with kids who have been evacuated from small towns and cities that have been attacked. HUGS also repairs volunteers’ vehicles and takes part in missions that bring food, medicine, clothing, bedding and items for hygiene and shelter to various communities.

“We never say no,” Hughes said, chalking it up to his Canadian attitude. “We can get it done, so we try to help everybody that we can.”

Hughes said neither he nor his son have been able to return to Canada.

“There’s just too much work to do here. Every day we work,” Hughes said.

“People’s lives have been turned upside-down here,” he added. “The fatigue is setting in everywhere. You see the breakdown of the social fabric on a daily basis.”

Hughes said the past two years have been spent learning Ukrainian culture while figuring out the best ways to offer aid.

Many Canadians, he said, are continuing to put their best foot forward in Ukraine to help people in the midst of misery and suffering.

In Russian hands

The scariest experience Hughes has had since arriving in Ukraine happened when he was captured by Russian forces.

Calling himself naïve at the time, Hughes said he had taken on a mission to get a six-year-old girl out of occupied territory, and promised her family he would get her back to them.

Hughes said he was detained and interrogated by Russian forces. Because he had served in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Hughes said he was accused of being a spy.

“It took a long time to convince them otherwise,” he said. “There (were) a couple moments that were a little dicey.”

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Over eight hours, Hughes said he experienced every emotion possible as men walked around him with knives, cocking guns and making threatening gestures.

After being questioned for hours, one final person walked into the room. Hughes said he assumed that person would be his executioner.

The Russian was able to speak some English, and asked Hughes what he did for work. He told him he was a farmer from Canada. Surprised, the Russian shared that he was a farmer as well, and Hughes said the pair began a conversation.

“We started to bond a little bit, I guess,” Hughes recalled.

Hughes said he was asked if he liked hockey.

Having played and coached the game his whole life in Lanigan, Jansen, Wadena, Foam Lake and Yorkton, Hughes said he confidently answered yes. The Russian then asked who his favourite player was.

Hughes said he tried to think of Russian players, and Alexander Ovechkin came to mind.

In crude terms, the Russian told Hughes he didn’t think Ovechkin was a good player. Hughes said he panicked trying to think of another Russian hockey player.

“Tretiak?”

“Oh, Tretiak good!” the Russian responded with approval and a smile.

“It was just crazy, but they finally let me go,” Hughes said, saying he “lucked out” in the situation.

It also helped that Hughes had hundreds of humanitarian photos on his phone and never had a weapon in his hands. In the end, he said, he was able to retrieve the girl and reunite her with her mom on the Ukraine-Poland border.

Hughes called that the most fearful he’s been for his life during his time in the country. He also said it was one of the few happy endings he’s encountered over the past two years.

No return in sight

While many people back in Canada keep tabs on Hughes’ work and ask when he’s coming home, his response is always that the work must be completed first.

“We’re quite committed to this country and what we’re doing,” he said.

He said he doesn’t take it lightly that he’s alive and still able to help after two years. It’s to be expected, he said, that people will get hurt when doing dangerous work.

“Too many” people he knows have died.

“It’s been really unfortunate to see some very, very skilled, talented individuals with big hearts die in very harsh ways,” Hughes said.

The network of volunteers and aid providers in Ukraine is small and close-knit, he said, so news travels fast through various communication apps when anything happens.

Sobering reality

Hughes remembered growing up in Lanigan surrounded by Ukrainians. His first girlfriend was Ukrainian, he said.

“Nobody wants the war to end faster than Ukrainians,” he shared.

At present, much of the money sponsors provide for his organization is going to vitamins for the children they are working with. He said kids in Ukraine are in desperate need of nourishment.

While proud of his role as a Canadian fighting for freedom, Hughes said it’s a life-and-death struggle.

“Our streets are littered with people with one leg and one arm,” he said, describing the random bombings that erupt in the centre of Kharkiv.

“These kids hear eight sirens a day … bombs constantly.”

Hughes said the situation can be overwhelming.

“If Ukraine stops, Ukraine ceases to exist,” he said. “They have to keep fighting.”