‘I’ve never seen this much misery’ says Calgary man on the front lines in Ukraine

“Heartbreaking. Heart-wrenching. I’ve never seen, witnessed or experienced this much misery ever,” said Calgarian Paul Hughes as sirens warning of a possible Russian air attack screamed in the background.

During an interview with Global News, Hughes spoke of his experiences in the four years since Russia launched its war in Ukraine.

“People, they went to bed that night (Feb. 23, 2022) and they woke up to a nightmare, and that nightmare has not ended in four years, especially here in places like Kharkiv and in the east.”

“What was once 1.5 million people is now down to 600,000 to 700,000 people. Some 200,000 IDPs (internally displaced people) are here as well,” said Hughes during an interview from eastern Ukrainian city of Kharviv.

Hughes, who calls himself a pacifist, but one who “hates bullies,” volunteered to go to Ukraine in March of 2022 where he runs a grassroots Canadian charity called H.U.G.S. (Helping Ukraine Grassroots Support), delivering humanitarian aid to communities on the front line of the war.

“The frontline is 1,000, almost 1,000 kilometres long. From Calgary to almost Vancouver is the frontline,” said Hughes.

“Its also very sad and the level of misery and the loss of life. The destroyed families. The destroyed homes. The destroyed communities. The Russians destroy everything … they’ve demolished and annihilated every single community along their march.”

Hughes says it’s the people who inspire him to stay in the face of so much misery.

“I did not know that much about Ukraine when I came here. I think I’ve got my PhD in Ukrainian studies now.”

“It’s just unrelenting and the people that are here and doing everything they can to defend their country. I have all the admiration and respect in the world for the Ukrainian people,” said Hughes.

“The fact that these people get up every day, they keep going to work, they keep helping, they fight, they try to hold it together, they keep trying to have families and raise their children, they keep going to school, they’re trying to pursue their dreams and aspirations with the immense pressure of a war.”

Hughes, who regularly shares his stories and images of the war through H.U.G.S. social media channels with the Canadian flag and his Calgary Flames jersey prominently on display, has also been personally affected by the war.

A few months after he arrived in Ukraine, his son MacKenzie followed his father to the country where he worked alongside Ukrainian troops, organizing relief efforts and delivering humanitarian aid to displaced people along the front lines.

On Canada Day 2025, during a massive Russian bombardment of Shahed drones on the eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, MacKenzie was severely injured but lucky to survive.

When he got word of the attack, Hughes rushed to be by his son’s side.

Rather than return home to Canada, MacKenzie chose to stay in Ukraine to recover.

“My son is a remarkable person. He’s a remarkable man. He’s gone to hell and back,” said Hughes.

“He had 30 per cent of his body with third degree burns from the Shahed attack. He is recovering, he’s still doing physio, but he’s got an amazing attitude, and he and I are working together again. He’s not giving up and he’s not giving upon Ukraine.”

Four years into the war, Hughes says the need for humanitarian aid is massive.

“People need to eat and they need a place to live. There are a lot of domestic refugees here that are struggling. So we try to provide for as many as we possibly can,” said Hughes

“There is considerable unemployment. There is quite a bit of poverty because of how the economic machine here in Ukraine has been impacted. You can only imagine if 70 per cent of the industry in Calgary shut down overnight and people fled Calgary. It would be very tough for people to keep surviving in Calgary — and Calgary and Kharkiv have a lot of similarities in the sense of the size,” he said.

“Canadians have no concept of the sacrifices that are being made here and what’s happening in real time to families and to people and to lives. This is an absolute nightmare and war is absolute hell here,” said Hughes.

Despite the pride they have in their country and their determination to survive, with the war now entering its fifth year, Hughes said Ukrainians are anxious for peace.

“The people are tired, they’re fatigued. Nobody wants peace more than these people. They want peace. They absolutely want peace, but they’re not willing to do it at any cost,” said Hughes. “They’re not wanting to give up their country for peace. So it has to be something that has dignity and is lasting.”