Ukraine-Based Ex Mediacorp Star Ix Shen Has No Plans To Leave Kyiv After Russia’s Invasion As He Wants To Stay & “Help In Any Way” He Can

Despite being able to just “trek to Poland or Hungary” to get away from the situation, the star said he would “not be able to live with” himself if he just took off and left Ukraine without sticking around to offer any assistance, so his “main focus is to help in any way” that he can.

What’s more, his wife Natalia is a reservist medical officer who may be mobilised for duty at any time. Natalia is a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner and the couple met online on a website for avid travellers.

Ix also explained that evacuating would “raise another whole series of problems”, such as being stuck on the highway in the cold without fuel and food, so for now, they are just following the government’s advice to stay indoors and wait for new information.

When asked to describe the mood there, Ix reported that while everyone is “tense” ‘cos of the sounds of explosions, there is “no frenzy” and “no panic”.

“People are still very civilised as they queue up to pay for their purchases and wait for their turn to buy what they need,” he said. “There are traffic jams for those trying to leave the city but inside the city, it’s still pretty calm.”

He added that the city still has electricity and internet access, although the economy has pretty much “come to a standstill” ‘cos most shops over there are closed. Fortunately, he managed to stock up on sufficient essential items and intends to share them with others in the community.

In the middle of the interview, Ix momentarily paused the conversation to take a call from his understandably worried mother and reassure her that he’s “alive and well”.

He admitted that he has his own concerns for his loved ones in the country too, namely his wife’s family, who are in the southern port city of Odessa. She has a grandmother in her 90s who is unable to walk.

“Until my wife and the family are well taken care of, I think I’ll be able to contribute more being here than being back in Singapore,” he said.

Photos: Carole Lin/Instagram, IMDb