Abigail Shoyat is a contributor for LINK nky. Igor Shoyat is her brother.
Beechwood grad Igor Shoyat, who LINK nky checked in with last week as he attempted to get out of Ukraine as Russian troops invaded the country.
But as of the weekend, Shoyat’s plans in response to the Russian invasion have changed.
“It has gotten too dangerous to leave Kyiv,” Shoyat said on Monday. He continues to stay with two of his uncles in the city.
The city of Kyiv straddles the Dnipro river, therefore funneling all transportation over its bridges. In its defensive strategy, Ukraine has destroyed some of its own infrastructure, including these integral bridges. This has limited the movement of Russian forces as well as that of Ukrainians still within the region.
“I don’t want to risk my life… even though I’m kind of risking my life staying here, but maybe not as much,” Shoyat said while discussing his options. “You never know where the bombings are going to be.”
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Shoyat contacted the US embassy after the initial attacks.
“They said there’s nothing that they can really do at this point because of the war,” he said. “They told me to get a commercial plane, even though there are no commercial planes flying over Ukraine right now.”
Earlier this month, the embassy had issued a statement to all United States citizens, urging them to leave the country by the 14th. Still awaiting his passport and doubtful that the threats would surmount to invasion, Shoyat had opted to stay in Ukraine.
“The US embassy was not really helpful. So for me, it was better to stay and try to do something,” he said. “So I joined the civil militia.”
Kyiv is currently under strict curfew and requires citizens to carry identification while outside their homes. The entities enforcing these mandates are the civil militias.
“We patrol outside from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m.” Shoyat said. “We check cars; we check people.”
The volunteers work in shifts, manning posts for hours in temperatures that often dip below freezing.
“Even after I changed, I would still be cold,” Shoyat said of the conditions.
It is a job these volunteers take seriously and with a great sense of national pride. And while they are unified by the goal of protecting themselves and the city, they are not always regulated.
“My neighbor was killed the other day… by our own guys,” Shoyat said. “He was maybe driving too fast, didn’t say the right things, so they shot him.”
While some of the militia is armed, there are plenty of members without weapons.
“The crazy thing is that you’re out there with no protection: no guns, nothing,” Shoyat said. “We did make molotov cocktails, and they work. We use anything flammable that we can get. The gas stations ran out of gas yesterday, so we have been mixing hand sanitizer and oil. Hopefully we don’t have to use them.’
An extended curfew was placed over the weekend, closing stores from 5 p.m. Saturday until Monday morning.
“My friends and I went to the store today and waited two hours just in the line to get into the place. Then we probably spent like an hour in the store,” Shoyat said. “As you can imagine, after you stand in such a long line, there are not a lot of options for food.”
Additionally, the city’s pharmacies have been closed since Thursday.
“You cannot get any medicine whatsoever, all of the pharmacies are closed,” Shoyat said. “One of my friends has diabetes and she can’t get anything.”
There has been an outpouring of support from Shoyat’s hometown in the Northern Kentucky area. When asked of his level of concern, he responds with, “I’m more afraid of heights than the war.”
However, there are many citizens, including members of his own family, that exhibit higher levels of concern. One of his biological brothers is staying in the basement of a school, reported as a safe destination for those seeking refuge in the city.
“He’s very afraid, which I totally understand,” Shoyat said. “It is scary. No one expected this to happen.”
Despite Shoyat’s brave constitution and faith in the Ukraine to win this war, he still hopes to return to the United States for permanent residency.
“I’m just waiting for the day when it is safe enough to leave.”
