Ukrainians who fled to Canada are building armoured vehicles to help war effort

Every day, they are grinding, welding and wiring the truck is very protected to fight almost 8,000 kilometers away.

It’s labor-intensive with hourly shifts scheduled, but some Ukrainians who work at the Roshel armored vehicle factory near Toronto consider the job very important.

Moved by the Russian invasion, it is a way to contribute to the war effort at the front.

“I can support our army when it’s safe,” said Vladyslav Utkin, who assembles vehicle parts such as door locks and lights at the Mississauga, Ont., plant.

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Armored vehicle manufacturer Ontario Roshel employs 80 uprooted Ukrainians among its 300 staff, and is looking to bring more.

Utkin is one of the latest to be hired. He just landed in Canada on January 20th.

Ukrainians work together in Ontario factories

“The weather and the air” are familiar here, Utkin said in an interview. “Having the same smell” for Kyiv native.

In his new job, he could speak his own language with other people working in the same small room. Management tries to group Ukrainians to make it easier to communicate with colleagues.

“Sometimes I don’t even remember I’m in Canada,” Utkin said with a smile.

Only 17, Utkin was attending college when the invasion began. Now, they are being housed by local families while their loved ones wait to come to Canada. His mother, 12-year-old sister, and grandmother, aunt and uncle are all in Israel waiting for Canadian visas, he said. Utkin’s father fought with the Ukrainian military.

“My mom was really upset about it,” he said. In the past year, Utkin moved to Poland, Austria and Israel before coming to Canada. “It’s very difficult.”

Federal data shows Canada has seen more than 167,000 Ukrainians arrive here since the start of 2022. Millions of people were displaced after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine a year ago, on February 24.

Refugees ‘contribution to homeland’

Meanwhile, in Roshel, orders for armored vehicles for Ukraine continue to grow, including new ones $90 million contract with the Canadian government. Companies need more employees, fast.

Roman Shimonov, the founder and CEO of Roshel, saw an opportunity several months ago when Ukrainian imports came to the Toronto area.

“They are good workers,” he said of the Ukrainian refugees. “They will contribute to the motherland … Most of them cannot be on the front line because of age restrictions and physical limitations.”

Anastasiia Davydenko, 36, worked in purchasing for a company in Kyiv before the war.

He fled to Canada in April 2022 and tried to do the same job remotely. But he soon realized the difference in time zones would be unmanageable with his work day starting at 2 a.m. Toronto time.

Davydenko updated his resume online and posted his details on LinkedIn. Not long after, Rochel arrived. He started with the company last June.

It’s a “miracle,” he told CBC News of his work with the armored vehicle maker. “I’m helping my country, helping my people, so I’m very happy.”

To assemble the Senator, Roshel bought an F-550 pickup from Ford and built a truck chassis with ballistic reinforcement and accessories customized by the buyer.

The Senator armored personnel carrier, Roshel’s flagship product, is typically used by law enforcement and other agencies in North America. Company list NASA, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and US Customs and Border Protection are clients.

But the beastly vehicle has been adapted for the battlefield in Ukraine with additions like landmine protection. The production line produces four Senators per day, with Rochel aiming to produce up to six days. It is more than before. The company previously told CBC it had a maximum output of 10 per month.

Shimonov said he expects to send more than 1,000 vehicles to Ukraine “in a short period of time.”

A CBC crew in Chasiv Yar in the eastern Donetsk region spotted the Senator working in recent days near the front line.

Plans to keep workers after the war

Davydenko said he is not sure about his future and whether he will return to Ukraine. “That’s a tough question … I’m more of a realist.”

“I know exactly what Russia is doing to Moldova, to Georgia,” he said, referring to the occupied territories of former Soviet states. “I don’t think so [the invasion of Ukraine] it will be over in a year, even.”

When the war ended, Shimonov said he had plans to detain Ukrainian workers returning home.

Roshel already operates a hub in Ukraine for after-sales support, he said, and after the war, the company wants to open a factory, partly staffed by people who have gained knowledge and experience in Ontario.

“When he will return to Ukraine,” said Shimonov, “he will be able to continue working there, without looking for a job.”

In a conference room at the Mississauga plant, Russian missile fragments that Shihimonov said were collected months before the invasion are displayed in a glass case. He said the material, which he bought from the Ukrainian embassy, ​​helped put him in perspective.

Not only did the shrapnel remind staff of what was keeping Ukrainian forces at bay, but Shimonov said it also highlighted that the conflict is “not as far away as we think.”