Widow says she still fears for family's safety, lives with 'tormenting thoughts'

The widow of a Ukrainian newcomer fatally stabbed in Winnipeg in 2023 says she lost her sense of security and joy in life the day her husband was killed — and she continues to live in fear for the lives of their two kids, even years later.

Yulia Rubanik sat quietly as a prosecutor read those comments from her victim impact statement in a Winnipeg courtroom Thursday, as now 22-year-old Ethan Gladu was sentenced to 10 years for what a judge called the "senseless, unprovoked" killing of Ivan Rubanik.

"My life was divided into before and after. To this day, I live with tormenting thoughts: 'Why him and not me?'" the widow wrote.

"I have no visible physical consequences from this crime, only the acute physical pain of loss, which rolls in waves."

Ivan Rubanik, 46, was stabbed near the intersection of Watt Street and Talbot Avenue on the morning of Dec. 20, 2023. Prosecutor Lee Turner said Rubanik, who was on his way to work, was still learning English, and was carrying a binder from his English course and his lunch.

Ethan Gladu, then 19, was charged with second-degree murder. Court of King's Bench Justice Kenneth Champagne later found him guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

"But for the actions of Ethan Gladu, Ivan Rubanik would still be alive, sharing his life with his family, working hard and building his new life in Canada," Turner said.

Instead, the prosecutor said Gladu's decision to stab Rubanik "has left the Rubanik family what I would only describe as shattered."

'Haunted by guilt and remorse'

Rubanik said her husband's death also shook her family's financial security, leaving her now "working twice as hard" to support their two teenage children, who described the toll their father's death took in victim impact statements of their own.

"Things that used to feel normal or enjoyable became harder to care about," daughter Paulina Rubanik wrote. "The feeling of being safe, stable and mentally secure in daily routine has become a much more elusive state."

Myroslav Rubanik said he was left with a "feeling of emptiness" after his father's death.

"I began to live a reclusive lifestyle, rarely leaving my room. I started repeatedly checking whether the front door was locked, making sure that my mother and sister were OK."

Gladu, who was brought into court wearing a white button-down shirt and shackles on his wrists and ankles, read quietly from a statement he'd prepared when given the chance to speak in court before he was sentenced.

"I want to apologize for the pain that I caused Mr. Rubanik's family," he said, telling court he accepts they have "every right not to forgive me."

"I'm haunted by guilt and remorse," Gladu said. "I just want to say that I am truly sorry."

Prosecutors asked for a 15-year sentence, while Gladu's lawyer Tara Walker asked for a sentence of two years less a day — which would keep her client in provincial custody — and three years of subsequent probation.

Walker argued that plan would help make sure Gladu, who she said suffers from addiction and "severe cognitive deficits" and has been doing well in custody, keeps getting the support he needs.

Justice Champagne said there "can be little doubt" that the family circumstances Gladu, who is Indigenous, grew up in are related to colonization and the residential school system. They included being exposed to drugs and alcohol at a young age and spending time in the care of child welfare authorities.

When Gladu stopped going to school in Grade 6, "nobody noticed," Champagne said, and he appears to have gained no further education when he returned at age 16. Though he was in what court heard described as a "special education" class, no assessments appear to have ever been done.

"It's shocking," Walker said. 

Caption: Ethan Gladu, 22, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of Ukrainian newcomer Ivan Rubanik. Rubanik was on his way to work in Winnipeg when he was attacked in December 2023.

"He fell through the cracks with Child and Family Services, through our school system. In a way, everybody has kind of left Mr. Gladu without the types of supports he needed. And he made it to 18 without getting in any trouble, and then he started to struggle once he got into methamphetamines."

With enhanced credit for time he's already spent in custody, court heard Gladu is expected to serve a little over six more years going forward.

Winnipeg man gets 10 years for 'senseless, unprovoked' killing of Ukrainian newcomer in 2023