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President Joe Biden is urging U.S. citizens to leave Ukraine immediately as tensions with Russia over its military buildup on the border continue to intensify. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv had already been urging citizens to consider leaving. Some American expats heeded the advice, others did not. Oksana Lihostova spoke to some Americans in Kyiv about their plans. Anna Rice narrates her story.
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptAmericans in Kyiv – Lihostova
HEAD: How US Expats in Kyiv Feel About Russia’s Possible War With Ukraine
TEASER:
PUBLISHED: 02/11/2022 at 8:30am
BYLINE: Oksana Lihostova
DATELINE: Kyiv, Ukraine
CAMERA: Oksana Lihostova
VIDEO EDITOR:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE(1st), BR
VIDEO FROM: VOA
TYPE: TVPKG
TRT: 3:15
VIDEO APPROVER'S INITIALS: KE
UPDATE: ))
((INTRO))
President Joe Biden is urging U.S. citizens to leave Ukraine immediately as tensions with Russia over its military buildup on the border continue to intensify. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv had already been urging citizens to consider leaving. Some American expats heeded the advice, others did not. Oksana Lihostova spoke to some Americans in Kyiv about their plans. Anna Rice narrates her story.
((NARRATION))
John Uke, who runs a California startup, came to Ukraine a few years ago to look for I-T specialists – and never returned home.
But with Russian troops massing near the Ukrainian border, Uke’s friends and relatives in the U.S. are worried. They keep messaging him to come home as soon as he can.
But Uke says he loves it in Kyiv, and feels the threat posed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin is exaggerated.
((John Uke, American Expat in Ukraine))
“I think it’s unlikely that Putin will invade. And even if he did, I think Ukrainians will be able to resist, because there are so many people here who are very patriotic.”
((NARRATION))
Uke adds that all his local American friends have made the same decision to stay and are not too worried.
((John Uke, American Expat in Ukraine))
“I don’t think he’s going to be bombing cities and killing civilians, because Ukraine didn’t do anything against him; and it would just be a disaster. So, I feel the worst thing that can probably happen to me is just losing internet for a little bit.”
((NARRATION))
But not everyone agrees. Joel Wasserman has been living in Kyiv for a few years teaching English. But the latest news...
((Mandatory courtesy: Joel Wasserman))
...made him decide to move to the west, to Lviv, to wait everything out.
((End courtesy))
((Joel Wasserman, American Expat in Ukraine)) ((SKYPE))
“Bombs falling around me or artillery shells or rockets – I’d like to stay away from that. I’m not concerned about it happening any day now, but I wanted to make my move fairly early, because that would make it easier. It would mean I could take more of my stuff, it meant I could take my cat; it meant that I could be confident that I would have a place waiting for me here in Lviv.”
((NARRATION))
Former U.S. army medic David Plaster has been living in Ukraine for the last decade. He often travels to the Donbass region as a volunteer to teach tactical emergency medicine to soldiers.
If Russia invades, Plaster says he won’t leave and instead has joined Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces to protect Kyiv if he needs to, together with the city’s residents.
((David Plaster, American Expat in Ukraine)) ((IN UKRAINIAN))
“I’m not running from my home. I live here. Yes, some of us have American, British, European passports, we can leave and go to other places. But why? We should stay where we live and show Putin and the whole world we are not afraid.”
((NARRATION))
Many other expats here in Kyiv share Plaster’s views. Citizens of the U.S., Canada, Britain and Northern Ireland, Denmark and Germany recently took part in an international solidarity march to express support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s aggression.
((Paul Niland, American Expat in Ukraine))
“I’ve seen some embassies have given travel warnings and some embassies have decided to remove non-essential staff or family members… But this is my home, this is where I live, I’m not going anywhere!”
((John Shmorhun, American Expat in Ukraine))
“We’re here to stay, we’re here to stay. We have businesses here; we have family here – we’re not going anywhere!”
((NATS))
((Chanting in Ukrainian))
((For Oksana Lihostova in Kyiv, Anna Rice, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsPolitics
Topic TagsUkraine
Americans
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateFebruary 11, 2022 17:44 EST
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
