In Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, the explosions are becoming more frequent and the air raid sirens are going nonstop, according to George Sajewich of Silver Spring, Maryland.
“It looks like the situation is getting a lot more dire,” Sajewich said.
His wife lives in Ukraine and he still has friends and family there, which is why he decided to travel to the country and volunteer as a paramedic for Ukrainian fighters.
According to Sajewich, on Friday, he got an indication of how bad things were when his team of medical workers was issued weapons by the Ukrainian government.
“Today we went over to the police station which is just a couple blocks away and they handed out these AK-74s,” he said.
According to Sajewich, the weapon came after an order went out to arm all so-called “units of territorial defense.”
With no military training, he was given a crash course on how to use and maintain the gun in less than an hour.
He said while bringing the gun from the police station back to the church at which he is stationed, he said he made the decision that he would use the gun if need be, to defend himself, his friends and family and his ancestral land.
“This is I who once said, ‘No, you’re never going to take another human life, it’s not you.’ I could now,” said Sajewich.
While he said many still in the city have made similar vows, he doesn’t believe there will be a moment that people fight Russian troops from the windows of their buildings.
“I don’t think you’ll get a chance to do that because Russians are using a lot of air power and airstrikes,” he said.
He said another troubling sign to him on how bad things were getting is that during his weapons training, he saw workers at the police station burning piles and piles of documents.
As things get worse, he said he remains determined to stay in Kyiv. So far, his unit hasn’t been deployed, with much of the fighting happening far away from his location. He also doesn’t believe diplomacy will bring an end to what is taking place.
“How can you engage in diplomacy and negotiations with not only a person, Putin, but with a country that has never kept a signed agreement,” he said.
