'My soul cannot absorb such absurdity,' says former Ukrainian MP forced to leave Kyiv
Svitlana Zalishchuk is among thousands who fled the nation's capital as Russia continues its invasion
Roads and railway stations in Kyiv have been packed with Ukrainians trying to escape, as Russian forces advanced their invasion to the nation's capital on Friday.
An estimated 100,000 people have fled Ukraine in the last 48 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale attack by land, sea and air early Thursday morning.
Missiles rained down on Kyiv as residents sheltered in the city's subway stations. Others, like Svitlana Zalishchuk, left the city in search of safety in western Ukraine.
Zalishchuk, a former member of the Ukrainian parliament, told As It Happens host Carol Off how she made the difficult decision to leave her hometown.
Here is part of their conversation.
How hard was it to make the choice to leave your home and get out of Kyiv?
Personally, I didn't feel safe because I'm blacklisted in Russia. I [have been] persona non grata since 2014 because I was a member of parliament and we were legislating bills against Russian aggression.
But also, we have been told that what Russians are trying to do, they are trying to encircle Kyiv, and they will try to shell it until Kyiv surrenders. So we believed that the window would be narrowing, and at some point you just won't be able to leave. So we decided to leave.
Do you believe that the Russians would target you?
I don't know, to be honest. But you know, two days ago, I couldn't believe, despite the fact that we've heard all the information and had it from different intelligence, that they [would] attack.
Even [the] night before, we decided to stay in Kyiv. We decided to help, to be useful on the ground because we didn't believe that the attack [would] happen on that scale. It's a proper, full-fledged invasion — on land, in the air, on the sea with, you know, explosions in the city, bombing, shelling civilian areas. It's just like World War II.
Fires above my city, peaceful Kyiv. It's impossible to reconcile with the idea that something like that is happening.- Svitlana Zalishchuk
What did you see in the city before you left?
The roads were completely blocked, packed with cars, traffic jams for hours and hours. I think there was a problem already, too, to get some petrol. People were standing also in front of the ATMs, people were trying to withdraw some money. Shops and pharmacies — everything, literally everything — was closed, and the streets were completely empty as well.
What were you feeling as you left your home?
I just still cannot believe what's happening. My mind and my soul cannot absorb such absurdity and this horror as well. I keep on watching these videos coming from different parts of Ukraine. I'm looking at the pictures we have of ruined houses, burning houses, missiles in the middle of the street, children that have been killed already, one woman whose mother was killed just in front of her eyes. Also fires above my city, peaceful Kyiv. It's impossible to reconcile with the idea that something like that is happening.
What happens, do you think, if the Russians make it to the president's office?
I don't want to believe it, and I don't want to imagine it. And I know that [the] Ukrainian Army is holding very fierce fights now in many cities. I also know from military experts that Putin hoped that either he would be welcomed or at least he can proceed much further and much faster. But I think he failed to do that. They have a lot of casualties.
I have been listening to this press conference, and the Russian minister of defence was asked about the Russian casualties in Ukraine of this so-called military operation. And he said that they don't know.
They do know. They are afraid to tell [the soldiers'] mothers that they are sending their sons to die and to fight. For what? For nothing. Ukraine has never threatened Russia, and the Russian population knows it very well.
How fierce do you think that resistance on the part of Ukrainians will be?
The resistance is extremely strong and you can see that through those fights that are happening.
Many people were losing lives, but were standing up to Russian troops. The whole nation hates Putin, hates his army, hates all those people who started this war and buried forever the security in Europe that has been cherished since 1945.
Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. Written by Olsy Sorokina with files from CBC News and Reuters. Interview with Svitlana Zalishchuk produced by Chris Harbord.
