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Ex-Mediacorp actor Ix Shen, shared about his experience living in Ukraine's capital Kyiv during the ongoing Russian invasion on Feb. 24.

Witnessed explosion at a distance

Shen, who is turning 50 next month, was interviewed by the Straits Times via Zoom from his balcony overlooking the neighbourhood.

At that same spot, Shen saw a "very instantaneous flash" about 20 to 40km from his residence at 10pm on Feb. 23.

"For a moment I thought I saw the moon that was covered by the clouds, but then the clouds would not be able to travel that fast," he said.

Three seconds later, Shen heard a very loud boom that was unmistakably caused by armed forces.

No plans to evacuate

Shen moved to Ukraine last year, and his Ukrainian wife is a reservist medical officer who might be mobilised.

Shen said that he had sufficient rations and water to last through "a period of time", and did not see the need to evacuate yet, as long as the electricity and Internet is still working.

Following the Ukrainian government's advisory, Shen is staying indoors as much as possible and awaiting new information.

While he has made evacuation plans, he finds that there are more unknowns if they choose to do so.

Evacuating means "taking a lot bigger risk than staying here", he said.

He noted that he should also tape up his glass windows in preparation for more shockwaves to come.

Ukrainians are resilient

Since the Russian military has been detected at the borders, Shen shared that he has noticed more Ukrainian soldiers and reservists being activated.

Now that the fighting has been brought to Kyiv's doorstep, he described the mood in the capital city as "tense".

For the first time in a while, the economy in Kyiv has come into standstill. Most of the stores closed and petrol stations ceased operations as the city enters military curfew.

Shen said that the Ukrainians are not frenzied or panicked, but rather civilised.

"This country is very resilient. They have been through so many crises in a very short time," he said.

Despite the instability in recent years, Shen remarked that the people in Ukraine have continued to thrive. As for himself, he is determined to stay and support those around him through this difficult period.

"I could not live with myself if I didn't stick around to help," he said.

On Feb. 25 (Singapore time), Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky ordered a full military mobilisation to counter the Russian invasion.

About Russia's invasion of Ukraine

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Top image by Ix Shen/Facebook.