As a university student living in Prince George, half a world away from his Ukraine homeland, Vova Pluzhnikov just wants to do something to help the people of his war-ravaged country.
The 26-year-old native of Krhakiv, Ukraine is organizing the Run For Ukraine: 44 km for 44 Million fundraiser on Tuesday in which he plans to run one kilometre for every 44 million Ukrainians now under siege in Russia’s deadly and destructive military invasion.
Starting at 6 a.m., Tuesday, Pluzhnikov, a senior guard for the UNBC Timberwolves basketball team, will begin his run from the base of Cranbrook Hill on University Way to city hall and plans to complete the route five times to reach the 44-kilometre total.
He’s hoping the event will raise funds and awareness to help ease the dire situation in Ukraine, where his parents, brother, sister-in-law, cousins and friends are now living in Kharkiv.
“They are in immediate danger in light of the Russian invasion,” said Pluzhnikov, in a video posted on YouTube.
“The last couple days have been difficult for me, but nothing in comparison to what my people have been dealing with. To be honest with you, I’ve been feeling helpless. The first couple of days I’ve been in shock and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I didn’t know what to do with my time, and after talking with other people in a similar situation, my friends from the States and other cities in Canada, I noticed we share the same sentiment. We’re not sure what we can do.
“So I started from spreading the awareness, sharing the information that I know, telling the truth, and it turned out pretty well and a lot of people reached out and thanked me for sharing the information and started sharing the information for themselves, and I’m really thankful for that. Having seen all those tragic things and events that happened in the last couple of days in my country and specifically in my hometown I felt I had to do more.”
Close to a million people have fled Ukraine for neighbouring countries as Russia continues to step up its military attacks with missiles and rockets, which have crippled the country’s infrastructure and demolished residential areas, resulting in dozens of civilian deaths and hundreds of injuries.
Money raised from Pluzhnikov’s run will got the National Bank of Ukraine’s humanitarian assistance fund to be used to provide food and shelter to refugees and Ukrainian citizens displaced by the war. An online site has been set up through the Red Cross to collect funds raised by the run. As of Friday afternoon, $1,958 has been donated.
“My goal is to keep spreading awareness but also walk the walk instead of just talking… and asking people for their help,” added Pluzhnikov. “I wanted to join the fight and I wanted to support our people from the outside, so I decided to put myself through this physical challenge and also raise some money that can be put towards volunteers that are risking their lives to help our police and military forces and just ordinary civilians.”
Pluzhnikov won’t be running alone. He’s invited people to join him along the route looks forward to drawing a crowd as a show of solidarity. A reception at city hall will follow the completion of the run.
