‘I’ve never seen so much misery,’ said a Calgary man on the Ukrainian front
“It’s heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking. I’ve never seen, seen or dealt with so much grief,” said Calgarian Paul Hughes as sirens warning of a possible Russian air attack screamed in the background.
In an interview with Global News, Hughes spoke about his experience in the four years since Russia launched its war on Ukraine.
“People, they slept that night (Feb. 23, 2022) and woke up with a bad dream, and that dream has not ended in four years, especially here in places like Kharkiv and the east.”
“What used to be 1.5 million people is now down to 600,000 to 700,000 people. About 200,000 IDPs (displaced persons) are also there,” Hughes said during an interview from the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharviv.
Ukrainian houses were destroyed by the Russians. One example of the ‘sorrow’ Calgarian Paul Hughes says he’s seen since Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago.
Sincerely: HUGS
Hughes, a self-proclaimed pacifist, but one who “hates bullies,” volunteered to go to Ukraine in March 2022 where he runs a Canadian charity called HUGS (Ukraine Grassroots Support), which delivers humanitarian aid to communities on the front lines of war.
“The front line is 1,000, about 1,000 kilometers long. From Calgary to about Vancouver is the best,” Hughes said.
“It’s heartbreaking and the level of suffering and loss of life. Families destroyed. Homes destroyed. Communities destroyed. The Russians destroyed everything … destroyed and exterminated every community on their march.”
Hughes says that it is the people who motivate him to stay on top of such grief.
Asked what motivates him to stay in Ukraine after facing so much misery, Hughes is quick to say ‘the people.
Sincerely: HUGS
“I didn’t know much about Ukraine when I came here. I think I have my PhD in Ukrainian studies now.”
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“It’s a permanent thing and the people are there and they’re doing everything they can to protect their country. I respect them and I respect the people of Ukraine,” Hughes said.
“The fact that these people wake up every day, continue to work, continue to help, fight, try to hold it together, continue to try to have families and raise their children, continue to study, try to pursue their dreams and desires under the great pressure of war.”
On social media following the war in Ukraine, Calgarian Paul Hughes is often shown proudly wearing his Calgary Flames jersey.
Sincerely: HUGS
Hughes, who regularly shares his stories and photos of the battle through HUGS social media channels with the Canadian flag and his Calgary Flames jersey prominently displayed, has also been affected by the battle.
A few months after arriving in Ukraine, his son MacKenzie followed his father to the country where he worked alongside the Ukrainian military, organizing relief efforts and delivering aid to the previously displaced.
On Canada Day 2025, when Russian Shahed drones bombed the eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, MacKenzie was seriously injured but was lucky to survive.
When he heard about the attack, Hughes rushed to his son’s side.
Instead of returning home to Canada, MacKenzie chose to stay in Ukraine to recover.
The son of Paul Hughes, who was working to distribute humanitarian aid on the Ukrainian war front, suffered severe burns over a third of his body when Russia attacked the town of Zaporizhzhia on Canada Day 2025.
Sincerely: HUGS
“My son is a great person, a wonderful man, he’s been to hell and back,” Hughes said.
“He had 30 percent burns from Shahed’s attack. He’s recovering, he’s doing physio, but he’s got an amazing attitude, and he and I are still working together again. He’s not giving up and he’s not giving up on Ukraine.”
Rather than return to Canada to recuperate after being injured in a Russian airstrike, Paul Hughes’ son MacKenzie chose to stay in Ukraine.
Source: HUGS
Four years into the war, Hughes says the need for humanitarian aid is great.
“People need food and they need a place to stay. There are a lot of internally displaced people who are struggling. So we’re trying to provide as many as we can,” said Hughes.
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“There is high unemployment. There is some poverty because of how the economic machine here in Ukraine has been affected. Imagine if 70 percent of Calgary’s industries shut down overnight and people fled Calgary. It would be very difficult for people to continue living in Calgary – and Calgary and Kharkiv have a lot in common in terms of size,” he said.
“Canadians have no idea of the sacrifices that are being made here and what is happening in real time to families and people and lives. This is a nightmare and war is absolute hell here,” said Hughes.
Despite their pride in their country and their determination to survive, as the war now enters its fifth year, Hughes said the people of Ukraine yearn for peace.
“People are tired, they are tired. Nobody wants peace more than these people. They want peace. They want peace, but they are not willing to do it by any means,” said Hughes. “They don’t want to sacrifice their country for peace, so it has to be something honorable and lasting.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
