Russia puts Hamilton woman on Putin’s keep-out list

Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia has its sights set on a woman right here in Hamilton.

She’s been labelled as someone who isn’t wanted in Putin’s Russia. But in this case, the Kremlin’s anger could backfire.

Larysa Zariczniak of Hamilton found out this week that she’s on Moscow’s no-go list. She’s permanently banned from Russia and can’t travel there, but she’s laughing it off.

Almost four years into the war between Russia and Ukraine, Zariczniak found out this week that she’s on the Putin not-wanted-in Russia list – not from Putin himself or his officials, but from a friend who saw it online.

“He’s like, hey Larysa, they didn’t even spell your name correctly and I was like, what is this? And that’s when I found out, I was like, yeah, they didn’t spell my name correctly,” said Zariczniak.

She says it was clearly her on the list because no one else in Hamilton has that last name.

But she’s not that upset.

“Honestly, I just laughed out loud at work because it was so funny to me,” said Zariczniak.

In fact, being on Putin’s keep-out-of-Russia list doesn’t bother her much.

In fact, she says being on the Kremlin’s list will help her and other Ukrainians resist the Russians in their fight for Ukraine’s freedom.

“If Putin puts me on the list and the spotlight goes back to Ukraine, that’s great. I’ll take it,” said Zariczniak.

READ MORE: Chrystia Freeland to resign as MP, take on advisory role to Ukrainian president

Other Ukrainians see it as unintended Russian praise for Larysa.

“I think Larysa can wear this designation as a badge of honor rather than a hindrance. I don’t think people are too keen on travelling to Russia these days,” said Konstantyn Sheweli from the Hamilton Ukrainian National Federation.

Larysa says she doesn’t know why she made the list but it may have something to do with her help for children from Ukraine.

“To make sure that they feel comfortable. To make sure they feel safe. To make sure that they have a safe environment that they can thrive in,” said Zariczniak.

Sheweli says Russia is afraid of Larysa because she tells the truth about Ukrainian history and culture.

“She’s constantly informing the public of things that have been buried or hidden or lied about over centuries,” said Sheweli.

Larysa welcomes Canada’s support for Ukraine in the war with Russia, and says former finance minister Chrystia Freeland will do well as an advisor to Ukraine’s president after leaving her job as a Toronto MP today.

“It makes me proud to see her in the spotlight and I know she’ll do it flawlessly,” said Zariczniak.

And she says Canada has Vladimir Putin’s attention.

“I think he knows that there’s Ukrainians in the Canadian diaspora that are actively working for Ukraine, which obviously we are. We support our motherland. We support where we come from. We support our traditions. All we want is Ukraine to be free,” said Zariczniak.

Larysa says her husband is also on the list of people banned from Russia. He’s a veteran of the Ukrainian military. And they have some high-profile company on Russia’s list, like Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

READ MORE: Carney in Paris Tuesday for Ukraine-Russia peace talks