Andrii Melnek would rather be on one of his many business trips to Barbados. Instead, with a rifle in hand, he is preparing to defend Ukraine against a Russian invasion in the capital of Kyiv.
The sound of rockets exploding in neighbouring communities is now the norm, Melnek told Barbados TODAY from his suburban home. He hopes that some of his countrymen if they survive the dreadful experience, might find refuge on Caribbean shores.
“At least three or four times each day, we are under attack from ballistic rockets, and maybe two, three, four times per hour in the whole city we hear air attacks from different bombs and artillery,” said the 45-year-old.
“So we are directly under attack and it’s not only military points, it’s placed where there are just ordinary people.”
The businessman is involved in real estate and business development projects in the Caribbean, particularly Barbados and Dominica. Most recently, Melnek has been trying to facilitate the supply of fast-moving consumer goods (FCMG) to Barbados.
He was preparing to make another journey to the region when Russian soldiers invaded.
At first, he contemplated fleeing the country with approximately one million others until he realised that civilians, including children were being caught in the crossfire.
“Unfortunately, I know people who have been killed during this conflict and injured during this conflict. It’s some of my friends. They were shot,” Melnek told Barbados TODAY.
“I don’t know exactly by whom, but I expect that it was by Russian terrorists. This was a family – a man, his wife and two kids and they tried to leave the city and go to the western part of Ukraine, but in the suburb of the city, they were shot with automatic weapons. The two [parents] were killed and the children are in hospital,” he said.
When asked how much could be done to avoid being affected by the artillery, he said some are in bomb shelters and others are praying.
But Melnek, determined to do more than just cower in fear, has enlisted in Ukraine’s Civil Guard made up of thousands of citizens – some with paramilitary training.
“It’s not the army, but like military organisations just to protect our neighbours, to protect each other and protect our area of the city. We are doing a lot of things to protect our army and support,” he said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made arms available to citizens as a massive Russian military convoy spanning 40 miles approaches the capital city.
Increased economic sanctions on Russia and fierce resistance have done little to deter President Vladimir Putin who placed his nuclear forces on “special alert” as he continues to target key cities and assets.
“It’s hard to tell what’s in the mind of this unstable person, the Russian president,” said the patriotic Ukrainian.
“I could just imagine that he would like to recover the Russian empire and without Ukraine, the Russian empire doesn’t exist. Maybe over the past 10 years, he dreamed about conquering Ukraine, but I can only imagine.”
Barbados and the Caribbean Community have joined global voices calling for an end to the Russian invasion. During the recent heads of government summit in Belize, they also discussed the possibility of imposing sanctions.
Melnek has also been in contact with friends from Barbados and Dominica.
He hopes that larger countries and organisations like NATO will assist with weapons. But there is another area of cooperation that he believes Barbados and the region can support.
“A lot of countries are accepting refugees from Ukraine and I think it could be one point of cooperation between Caribbean countries and Ukraine as well,” said Melnek.
“For sure, more people will go to Poland, to the Czech Republic, maybe to Germany and nearby countries, but for example, if the Caribbean could also accept at least 1.001 per cent of refugees, maybe that would also be good.”
For the time being, however, Melenek can only plan for the night ahead which will probably be spent on the streets of Kyiv defending his people.
“Until one party, and of course, it should be Russia, accepts the other’s thinking on how the conflict should be decided, I think it will continue.
“We are not here fighting against the Russian people, but against Russian political regimes and the Putin government.” kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb
