EXCLUSIVE | Kyiv man strives to link Ukrainian refugees with European hosts: 'Don’t be unmoved'
Every war-torn country was once beautiful. Ukraine is no exception. Ukraine was beautiful with a diverse landscape and a well-preserved tradition and culture. Every city had its own charm. People marveled at Soviet architecture and street art. They smiled, walked hand-in-hand and relaxed on the beaches of the Dnieper River. A lively urban scene overshadowed melancholy. Children played as parents watched. Education flourished. Peace prevailed.
The once serene, restful country is now a battlefield. Screams of terror dominate the laughter that once rang in the air. There is blood splattered across the roads and on the hands of those who mercilessly slaughter the innocent. There is death, destruction, misery and devastation. Mothers wail as children die. Lovers bid their last goodbyes. The county is in tatters.
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For Illia, an undisturbed life turned into a nightmare when he woke up one night to the sound of bombs. Born in Kyiv, Illia has a small tech startup he was running peacefully. He and his family were following the news and understood there was a chance of military escalation.
“I woke up to a loud noise but I couldn’t really understand if it was real or I was dreaming. It wasn’t repeating at first. And then I heard a long beep from a car passing by and I understood that somebody was trying to wake people up. I heard a new blast and saw a flash. I woke up my wife and we left our apartment in a matter of 10 minutes. We rang the doorbells of our neighbors to make sure they were awake and jumped into our car,” Illia, who wished to be addressed only by his first name, told MEAWW. “Since we had been following the news, we were kind of prepared. We bought some extra food and water beforehand, had some stuff packed, and collected important documents in one place.”
“We headed towards Western Ukraine. The traffic was so awful that it took us 15 hours to get to a hotel. We waited for 17 hours in line on the border with Slovakia. There were thousands of people waiting to cross the border both in cars, buses and on foot. People were stressed but in these times of distress, I realized how everyone was ready to help those in need. My wife crossed the border but since the male population was not allowed to cross at that time, I returned to my relatives in Western Ukraine,” he added.
Russian troops have been mercilessly killing civilians. Over 300 civilians have already been killed in Ukraine, the country's health ministry has said. Over 1,000 people, including more than 100 children, have been wounded. Authorities have reportedly been handing out weapons to anyone who wishes to defend the city.
Atrocities against civilians only seem to be increasing. On Tuesday, March 8, a convoy of buses packed with people fleeing the war was struck, with 21 people, including two children, losing their lives, Ukrainian authorities said. Thousands of people, including civilians and soldiers, are thought to have been killed.
A chilling video has captured the moment when a Russian ‘special peacekeeping’ tank blew up a car in a completely unprovoked attack. An elderly civilian couple was killed inside the car in the attack. A clip doing the rounds on social media shows a car moving into the frame before halting as a Kremlin tank fires on the vehicle twice, blowing it into pieces.
A Ukrainian mother was gunned down by Russian troops along with her two children in a Kyiv suburb on Sunday, March 6, as they were fleeing Irpin. Tatiana Perebeinis, an IT worker, had not fled sooner as she was caring for her ailing mother. Perebeinis, 43, and her two children, Alise, 9, and Nikita, 18, were killed alongside a man they were traveling with when Russian forces indiscriminately fired at them.
A Ukrainian woman was gunned down just outside Kyiv while she was on her way back from a dog shelter where she went to deliver food. According to Anastasiia Yalanskaya’s family and friends, Russian troops may have deliberately targeted her vehicle at close-range. Riddled with bullets, Yalanskaya’s car was found near the house of a man she was volunteering with.
In another instance, a Ukrainian cop's family, including his six-year-old daughter and his newborn baby, were shot dead by Russian troops as the cop's brother heard it all on a phone call. The 30-year-old policeman, Oleg Fedko, was working in the Kherson region when his partner and his parents picked up his kids to ensure they were safe. The brothers' 56-year-old parents, and the cop's partner Irina, 27, were killed. Their two kids, baby Ivan and six-year-old Sofia, were also slaughtered.
Just days ago, a Ukrainian schoolgirl was gunned down by Russian saboteurs in her family car alongside her parents, local reports have claimed. Polina was a 4th-grade girl from Kyiv and was with her family and two siblings in their car when it came under fire from a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group.
“Once I knew that me and my family were safe, I felt a burning need to do something to help my country and my people,” Illia said. “I don’t know how to shoot people, but I speak English and I have managerial and tech skills, so I realized that I can be way more useful and efficient with a notebook than a rifle. I posted a message to several volunteer groups that I am willing to help and luckily somebody connected me with one Alex, who asked me to help translate their newly launched platform for Ukrainian refugees. I jumped in and we quickly understood that I can be of much more help than just a translator. Now we develop it together and I’m responsible for communication on the Ukrainian side.”
The platform Illia referred to is called EU4UA, which allows Ukrainian refugees to connect with citizens from Europe who are willing to offer emergency housing. Data says that the EU has 11 million empty apartments/houses and many families have spare bedrooms. This can enable any refugee to benefit from decent accommodation instead of having to deal with the tough conditions of refugee camps.
“There are many challenges that both sides would have to deal with – logistics, language barrier, trust and many more, but we have a strong faith in humanity. Many refugees fled their houses without spare clothes, gadgets, or food. They have to wait for hours while crossing the border and experience extreme stress and terrible conditions. But they hope for the better because they know that once they cross the border, help awaits. We see from registrations on our platform that Europeans are willing and ready to help. They are ready to provide shelter, food, clothes and all the things needed for the refugees, which is truly touching. There are a lot of people who are willing to help and it’s our job to connect them with refugees,” Illia said.
“Building a platform from scratch under stressful conditions is not easy. But contributing to a project that can potentially help thousands of people to get better life conditions requires a full-time commitment, which I am absolutely ready for,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin could reportedly be deploying one of the deadliest weapons and is also considering nuclear options. Putin deployed a terrifying rocket system onto the battlefield after three days of defense by Ukrainian forces. In footage verified by CNN, the Russian army was seen moving TOS-1 Buratino rockets towards the front line. Meanwhile, Putin reportedly also ordered the military command to put nuclear deterrence forces on high alert following aggressive statements by NATO countries.
“We have a spectacular team of European tech enthusiasts who push forward and multiple Ukrainian volunteers who support us in all possible ways. It’s very inspiring to see that people from all over the world are ready to invest their time, resources and efforts to help Ukraine. We all are very different but I believe that we have one common thing – every single person strives for the better. And now all of us have a real chance to help people who are in desperate need. Please don’t stand aside. Don’t be indifferent and unmoved,” Illia concluded.