Fifth flight of displaced Ukrainians set to touch down in Regina

A fifth and final flight of displaced Ukrainians will arrive in Saskatchewan on March 27, according to the province.

The series of flights marks the largest humanitarian effort organized by the Government of Saskatchewan in recent years, bringing refugees to Canada from war-torn Ukraine.

In August of 2022, the province signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Argentinian aircraft owner Enrique Pineyro to bring a total of five flights to Saskatchewan by the end of March.

Pineyro, along with his Solidaire organization, has covered the $2.5 million cost of flying 1,100 Ukrainians to the province.

Pineyro has personally flown 3,000 Ukrainians to safety to destinations in Italy, Spain, and Canada.

“[We’re] just very grateful to our partners as well, Solidaire and Open Arms, who we have worked with very closely on this,” Minister of Immigration, Jeremy Harrison told CTV News.

“Of course the government of Ukraine have been involved in this as well.”

Pineyro recently returned from Kyiv where he toured neighbourhoods damaged by the ongoing war, now in its 13th month.

While in Ukraine, he also discussed how to get people home following the war.

“We can just load them and bring them back,” Pineyro said in a video posted to Twitter.

Families that have arrived in Saskatchewan have been issued three year emergency visas.

Some may apply to stay in the land of living skies. However, the Ukrainian government expects most to return after the war to help rebuild the nation.

The flight is expected to arrive at the Regina International Airport at about 3:30 p.m. on Monday.

Desde que empezó la guerra llevamos 130 toneladas de ayuda humanitaria a Ucrania y trasladamos con Solidaire y Open Arms a 3000 desplazados a Canadá, Italia y España.
Ahora fuimos a Kyiv para coordinar los próximos pasos y empezar a trabajar en otros problemas, como el de los… pic.twitter.com/JuJP2kDN2Y

— Enrique Piñeyro (@epineyro_ok) March 7, 2023