As a native of Ukraine, UNBC student Volodymyr ‘Vova’ Pluzhnikov knows his homeland is at the centre of potentially volatile military conflict that could threaten world stability.
It is a concern for the 26-year-old student-athlete from Kharkiv, Ukraine, who came to Prince George six years ago to play basketball for the UNBC Timberwolves. But whatever happens, he says it’s beyond his power to change it and he’s not losing any sleep over it.
He’s confident cooler heads will prevail and his home country will be able to steer clear of war.
“I think people here especially are panicking a bit too much and I think the media is trying to make a bigger deal out of it,” said Pluzhnikov. “It’s something that my people have been dealing with for the last several years and it’s nothing new to my people back home, it’s just a hot topic here.
“A lot of people come to me and want to know my take on it and my message is I’m just trying to stay positive and hope for the best outcome. There’s not much we can do, we’re just the little guys.”
The conflict stems from the breakup of the Soviet Union and Ukraine becoming an independent country three decades ago and Russia’s interest regaining territory it lost when the 14 former Soviet republics declared sovereignty in 1991. The push to regain access to Black Sea ports on the southern coast of Ukraine led to the Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimean peninsula in March 2014. Troops crossed the border and pro-Russian lawmakers dismissed the sitting government and replaced it with a new regime which voted to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. The result of a referendum which showed 97 per cent of voters agreed with the move to join Russia was denounced by the Ukraine government and the U.S. and European Union imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Russian officials and members of the Crimean parliament.
In the latest crisis, Russia started massing troops and equipment near the Ukrainian border in the spring of 2021 and has stepped up the military buildup since November, raising the potential threat of an invasion. Russia has sent more than 100,000 Russian troops equipped with tanks and rocket launchers into the area – the largest concentration of firepower in Europe since the end of the cold war in 1991.
Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s worries about an invasion and all-out war are backed by American intelligence officials who believe a major military operation is imminent. The British government says there’s a real threat that a military force could move in on the capital of Kyiv and take over the Ukraine government and Western countries worry the current heads of state would be replaced by a pro-Russia puppet regime.
Russia has continued to deny is has plans to invade Ukraine and has asked for guarantees that the Ukraine will not join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The United States and other NATO countries have vowed to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and continue to supply the country with weapons such as anti-tank missiles, anti-armour artillery and small arms and ammunition.
American warships are currently patrolling the Black Sea and the Russian government wants a reduction in the number of military troops and equipment in Eastern Europe, a demand that was rejected by other NATO countries who have warned Russia of possible economic sanctions if it follows through with an invasion.
Ukraine has a long history of being plagued by wars, dating back to the Byzantine empire in the 800s. During the Second World War it was invaded by Germany in June 1941, a Nazi occupation that lasted for three years and cost the lives of between five and seven million people.
“Western Ukraine has been torn apart so many times and in the east you have a lot of people with a Russian background and if you ask them, they wouldn’t really care if they became part of Russia again,” Pluzhnikov said. “I lot of people didn’t want the Soviet Union to come apart in the first place. There’s a lot of tension inside the country and you just have to hope for the best. There’s no short-term or long-term solution to it right now, it’s just something my people will have to deal with for the next little while.”
Pluzhnikov’s parents and older brother still live in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, with a population of 1.44 million, and he speaks to them regularly to get updates on the political situation. Kharkiv is in northeastern Ukraine just 40 kilometres from the Russian border.
“To be honest, my parents are not worried about those things, they just keep their noses down and just work,” Pluzhnikov said. “We’ve had so many different leaders and presidents, they’ve promised a lot of things and turned their backs to us. It’s difficult, you can’t put your hope in anyone’s hands right now. It seems there is no leader who will come and change things and it’s one of the reasons I decided to leave the country.
“Politically and economically, Ukraine hasn’t been doing well and for me, as a 21-year-old guy who was just playing basketball in the fall and winter months, I just couldn’t find a good job, even after graduating and getting a degree, and for me the best option was to take my chances and go play basketball somewhere and create an opportunity for myself.”
Pluzhnikov grew up knowing about the political tensions between Russia and Ukraine and the detrimental effect it’s had on the economy of his home country. He realized his talent for playing basketball could be his ticket to a fresh start in Canada, where he felt there were more opportunities for prosperity. He emailed the coaches of every university and college team in Canada and the response he got back from UNBC head coach Todd Jordan convinced him to apply to UNBC as a foreign student.
“Todd wanted me to come and I felt really good about that decision,” said Pluzhnikov. “At that point in my life I didn’t have the luxury of picking and choosing and waiting for a better option, I just went with the first one and I’m really happy. I could have been in a different city and got lost.”
That’s never been a worry from the day he arrived in Prince George in the summer of 2016. Now in his sixth season, the six-foot-one guard emerged as one of T-wolves top players and team leader on and off the court, winning the UNBC's most outstanding player award in 2018.
Through 94 career games in U SPORTS, Pluzhnikov has averaged 14.1 points per game playing as a guard. He has 311 assists and 415 rebounds as well as 95 steals in his Canada West career. Popular with his teammates, coaches, team staff and T-wolves fans, Pluzhnikov was chosen for the Zane Robison Award in the 2018-19 season as the player who shows the utmost dedication to the Timberwolves organization.
Pluzhnikov already had a degree in organic chemistry from the National University of Kharkiv and a year of masters studies completed when he got to Prince George. He enrolled in the commerce program at UNBC and plans to pursue a career in marketing and sales. He will apply for permanent residency status and hopes to remain in Prince George.
“I would love to stay here,” he said. “This city has given me a lot of opportunities and love. I’ve built so many connections and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
