KHARKIV, Ukraine — Wearing a military uniform marked with the Ukrainian and Canadian flags, Matthew McGill called for more support to fight Russia’s invasion.
“We need equipment,” the Canadian Armed Forces veteran and member of Ukraine’s international legion said Thursday. “The legion needs money to buy equipment.”
“Any way you can help us continue our fight is appreciated.”
McGill, a 49-year-old Calgary resident, serves in a Ukrainian army signal platoon on the Kharkiv front, where there have been heavy missile and artillery attacks.
“A lot of artillery,” said McGill. “Everyone reacts differently. For my part, I just listen more carefully to find out if it’s incoming or outgoing and how close it is. And if it’s too close, you go into a trench.”
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Russian and Ukrainian forces have clashed in a handful of villages outside the city of Kharkiv. Russia wants to move the Ukrainian military away from its border and protect supply lines that support its bid to seize the eastern Lugansk and Donetsk regions.
Among those fighting the Russians in the region are members of Ukraine’s International Legion for Territorial Defense, and at least one is Canadian.
Speaking to reporters at the edge of a farm field far from the nearest Russian position, he said he was driving fuel trucks on icy roads in the Northwest Territories when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon invited foreign volunteers to join an international legion that would operate as part of the Ukrainian army.
Matthew McGill near the Kharkiv front lines, Ukraine, June 30, 2022.
Stewart Bell/Global News
A veteran of the Canadian Forces 735 Communications Regiment, McGill said he thought he had something to offer.
“I felt I could do more than just post on Facebook that I support Ukraine and maybe give some money,” he said. “I have skills that I thought would be useful here.”
His family did not want him to leave. He is the father of two children and recently became a grandfather.
While his family understood why he wanted to help Ukraine, they were worried, but ultimately supported him, he said.
He found the online application form and underwent an evaluation. Almost two weeks later, she learned that she had been approved and flew to Poland.
“My employer was very supportive and I will have a job waiting for me when I get back,” he said.
Matthew McGill from Calgary near the Kharkiv frontline, Ukraine, June 30, 2022.
Stewart Bell/Global News
Volunteers met him at Warsaw airport and he crossed the border in March for a month of training. He said that while the international legion may have been disorganized in the early days, he has improved.
“I would say things are really good right now,” he said.
According to the international legion, “many” Canadians have joined the fight against Russia, although it does not provide figures. Many, but not all, are Ukrainian-Canadian.
“There are quite a few Canadians here,” agreed McGill, who has no Ukrainian roots.
One is a drone operator who helps target Russian positions, he said. McGill said he, too, came across equipment provided by Canadians, such as night vision goggles and ready-to-eat meals.
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Canada has provided M777 artillery guns, rifles, ammunition and other military support, but Russia continues to be outgunned by Russia and has been asking for more weapons.
Following Russia’s missile attack on a packed shopping mall in Kremenchuk on Monday, Zelensky called on a NATO summit in Madrid for “much more modern systems, modern artillery.”
McGill said he was close to a Russian missile. She was in a building used as an observation point and was about to leave when a missile landed and blew her glasses off her face.
“Luckily no one was hurt, but getting that close really opens your eyes,” he said. “Being hit by missiles and artillery nearby is something that will change everyone.”
Explosions are not the only risks. Two British members of the Ukrainian forces captured by Russia were sentenced to death earlier this month. Two Americans are also now in Russian custody.
The Russian government calls foreigners fighting for Ukraine mercenaries who are not entitled to the prisoner-of-war protections of the Geneva Conventions.
Investigators at the scene of a Russian missile attack on an apartment building in Kharkiv on June 25, 2022.
Stewart Bell/Global News
McGill said he would stay in Ukraine for another two months and return to Canada at the end of August.
“I think six months is enough to be away from my family,” he said.
He said his experiences had reinforced his views on the need to defend Ukraine from Russian territorial expansionism.
“Just seeing how horrible the Russians are in their treatment of Ukrainian civilians has made me feel the need for me to be here more strongly,” he said.
“Just be thankful we don’t have a war in Canada.”
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