“Life changed in the last 48 hours.”
Those were the words of 23-year old Ukrainian Olympic swimmer Sergii Shevtsov early Friday morning from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
“I am in Kyiv in my apartment with my wife. We won’t go anywhere. We’ll be here,” Shevtsov told SwimSwam via Whatsapp message.
“At 5AM the invasion began and the air defense in Borispol began to work. It was loud, the whole city heard it and understood that the war had begun.”
Shevtsov says that he expects the night to “be hot,” and that he expects to hear more fighting into tomorrow, but that he “believes and knows that the Ukrainian army will endure and win.”
Shevtsov and his wife are safe for now, but plans to go to the parking garage for safety if the fighting gets any worse near the capital city.
Shevtsov says that he could hear helicopters and the bombing of the nearby Hostomel airport, which has been a key battleground in the early fighting. The Ukrainians claim to have retaken the airport after Russia captured it earlier on Thursday.
According to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian sabotage groups have entered the city, where martial law has been declared and strict curfews have been instituted. The government has distributed 10,000 automatic rifles to citizens in Kyiv.
“Yes, I’m an athlete, but what I saw on Thursday afternoon when my wife and I drove around the city and watched the situation around me is something we will never forget.
“My last workout was on Wednesday, and I don’t know when the next one will be,” Shevtsov said.
When asked if he would attempt to leave the country, Shevtsov said no, that he would stay. “My house is here, my motherland is here, my family is in Zaporozhye. My wife’s family is in Kharkov, where there is much fighting.”
Kharkov is the country’s second-largest city, where images have circulated of mass numbers of people taking cover in subway stations and sleeping overnight. The city is near the Belarusian border, where Russian troops entered the country and have advanced south toward the city.
🇺🇦 Kharkov residents spending the night in the metro pic.twitter.com/BOLh4BMZSD
— Gabriel Hébert-Mild™ ⓥ (@Gab_H_R) February 24, 2022
Ukraine has raised the death toll of Ukrainian soldiers to 137, plus a further 57 civilians. 316 soldiers and 169 civilians were also injured in the first day of fighting.
As for the upcoming World Junior Championships and World Short Course Championships that are scheduled to be hosted in Russia, Shevtsov, who swam at the last World Short Course Championships in December, said quite simply: “I think they are impossible.”
Shevstov was the 2016 European Junior Champion in the 100 freestyle.
I’m here in Kyiv and the last 24 hours has been a nightmare for us all. Russia is superfluous on this planet. I hope it’s banned from everywhere including swimming community soon. No exeption.
Has anyone checked on Yana Klochkova?
Sergii, Our hearts are with you, your family, and all Ukrainians whose sovereign homeland is under attack. The beautiful spirit, resilience and courage that’s on full display by President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people is an inspiration to the entire peace-loving world. Your collective steadfast defense against this evil represents the best of human nature—Ukraine is the light shining in the darkness. God bless and protect you, your family, your President and your nation.
Y’all should reach out to Andrii Govorov. He’s been posting stories in English in the last 24 hours and it sounds like he wants to talk.
Crestfallen for the people of Ukraine today.
I cannot imagine what the poor Ukrainians are going through, a lot of tough talk from the world’s powers and not much action. The situation has eerie resemblance to September 1939.
Young men and women once again dying to satisfy the ego of crazed old men worried about legacy, when will it end. If we’re called to help we’ll do our best, my brother will probably go first and I’ll be floating around somewhere. Pray this madness stops because it’s just not worth it, why do we keep treating each other this way. Don’t give up Ukraine and hopefully there is help coming, let’s all do what we can and support their quest for continued freedom. Without freedom there is nothing and it’s worth fighting for till the end. Stay safe out there
So what exactly will you do ‘ floating around somewhere” .
The facts are that Team Anglosaxon military & diplomatc fled from Kiev to Lvov then to Poland .
Heartbreaking 😪