FIRST PERSON | I've seen Ukraine's scars. As a Canadian veteran, military spending will decide my vote | CBC News

CBC - 20/04
When Andriy Tovstiuk, a Ukrainian Canadian veteran, returned to wartime Ukraine in 2023, it caused him to consider important questions about Canada’s defence policies in an increasingly uncertain world.

This First Person article is the experience of Andriy Tovstiuk, a Ukrainian Canadian veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces living in Edmonton. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ. 

In March 2023, I returned to Ukraine for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion began a year earlier. When I was there with Operation Unifier in 2019 and 2020, I wore the uniform of the Canadian Armed Forces and was there to help train Ukrainian soldiers.

This time, I was back as a professor, teaching strategic marketing to Ukrainian IT professionals in a master's program. As a Ukrainian Canadian born and raised in Edmonton, I've always cherished trips back to the land of my ancestors.

But stepping off of the train once I arrived in the country, I realized nothing about this place would be the same.

The streets of Vasylkiv, where I once jogged through quiet neighbourhoods, now bore the scars of a full-scale war many thought would never happen. A...
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