Happy Wednesday! This is Kai reporting from Kyiv again. My trip is coming to an end tonight, but my stories have not. In my last piece, I introduced Serhyi from Luhansk, and I detailed his life as a war refugee when Russia invaded his hometown in 2015. I highly encourage reading that piece first, which gives a background of Serhyi’s life, as well as his thoughts and memories from the beginning of the trouble with Russia.
The invasion in 2022 shook Serhyi’s life once again, as he understood the same invader could force him to flee. Unlike in 2015, Serhyi matured. This time, he did not come back from a graduation party, waking up to strikes and air raids. However, he did get flashbacks from 2015. Serhyi defined people from Luhansk as “passive,” and that possibly included himself. Having lived by that point already seven years in Kyiv, he was a changed man.
Serhyi refused to flee. “I felt guilty to flee another time. I felt the need to stay.” He also recalls expecting the invasion to end soon: “I thought it would last 2-3 weeks. Our leaders said they would find a deal within a month. At the same time, the Brits told us to not sign anything, as it would be the same as raising the white flag.”
The first measure he took in 2022 was a cultural shift. He stopped speaking Russian, which was his mother tongue, and switched to Ukrainian. This was significant for Serhyi, as he had collected over 50,000 followers on TikTok. His account consisted of poems he would write in Russian. I asked him why: “We’re very sad people. I wrote about what I saw; it was like therapy to me; I started around the pandemic.” While Serhyi tried to remain neutral in 2015, this wasn’t the case anymore. He started posting pro-Ukrainian posts on his social media, leading to disputes with his friends from Luhansk. He also switched to Ukrainian poetry, which led to threats on social media. Some followers told him that Ukrainians “killed his relatives.” He was also told to “be careful” and to “never come back.” Understanding this would continue, Serhyi shut his account down and created a new one—this time Ukrainian from the beginning.
Although he has fewer followers than he used to, Serhyi found a new fanbase who appreciate his talent in Ukrainian. One could argue this was a big step. Serhyi believed he could do more.
He started volunteering as he prepared food for soldiers in Chernihiv. He talked with soldiers and felt a genuine connection, resisting the Russian invader in different ways. The soldiers said they read his poems and found them inspiring. It felt as if there was a common effort, which in turn inspired Serhyi: “I felt like I impacted lives; I started identifying with a new culture. I tried to remove any Russian influence.”
Serhyi’s journey did not stop there; it evolved into something deeper and more complex. As he immersed himself in this new identity, he began meeting soldiers on the frontline who reflected their struggles through their stories. “I realized I had to survive once again,” he shared with determination. Despite juggling his studies for a PhD and volunteering efforts, he found solace in connecting with those who were fighting for their homeland.
He recounted moments of despair amidst hope: “On January 16th, 2023, we had many negative events—a huge strike in Dnipro took many lives.” This tragic news marked one of the lowest points for him during the war; however, it also fueled his resolve to contribute positively wherever possible.
“We often heard night drone attacks at 3 or 4 AM,” he recalled somberly. “You would go to the basement; it was tough mentally because you don’t rest.” The fear of losing everything weighed heavily on him but also instilled a sense of urgency: “You realize life can stop anytime.”

As we continued our conversation about resilience and identity amid chaos, Serhyi expressed frustration over how some individuals chose to escape abroad while others remained behind facing adversity head-on: “It feels unfair because some move abroad and make great money while we struggle here.” Yet despite these challenges, he recognized that without Western support, Ukraine would face even greater obstacles. “Soldiers I talked with said that in summer 2022 we were preparing for a counter-attack,” Serhyi noted with disappointment over missed opportunities due to lack of resources and fear of Russian retaliation.
Through all these experiences—painful yet transformative—Serhyi emerged with a renewed sense of purpose and hope for Ukraine’s future: “I realized that even amidst despair, we must keep pushing forward.” His story is one of courage and determination—a testament to those who refuse to surrender their identity or dreams in the face of overwhelming odds.