Decentralists in Ukraine - Life in War Time

karpus
Hey, everyone it's Henry Mike and Jeff of the decentralists and welcome to season 5 episode 2 now. The last time we were chatting with Mike he was in Kyiv of course and he explained to us just how much effort it took to get there. Well. We didn't have a chance to really talk him. Um, hey everyone it's Henry Mike and Jeff of the decentralists and welcome to season 2 episode hey everyone it's Henry Mike and Jeff of the decentralists. Welcome to season 5 episode 2 in our previous episode. We were speaking with Mike and just how much effort it took to get to Kiev Ukraine while he's there. Um, but we didn't have a chance to really learn what it's like living there in the last several months so that's what we're going to do today. Mike how are you hey everyone it's Henry Mike and Jeff of the decentralists and welcome to season 5 episode 2 hey everyone it's Henry Mike and Jeff. Of the decentralists and welcome to season 5 episode 2 in our previous episode hey everyone it's Henry Mike and Jeff of the decentralists and welcome to episode dammit.

01:34.99
karpus
Hey, everyone it's Henry Mike and Jeff of the decentralists and welcome to season 5 episode 2 hey everyone it's Henry Mike and Jeff of the decentralists and welcome to season 5 episode 2 last time we were speaking with Mike he explained just how much of an effort and how tough it was to get to Kiev Ukraine now. He's been there for many months now and we're finally going to have a chance to learn from him what it's like to live in essentially a war zone Mike. Yeah there.


karpus
Hey, everyone it's Henry Mike and Geoff of the decentralists and welcome again to season 4 episode 2 the last time we were speaking to Mike um, he of course is in kyiv. Um, but we really didn't have a chance to to understand what it's like. Living essentially in a war zone. Um like to dive into that right now Mike are you there? okay.

00:23.56
MC in Kyiv
I am Henry I am Henry and and and just to correct you. It is not essentially it is not essentially a war zone. It is a war zone right.

00:35.60
karpus
yeah yeah I finding the whole concept despite nonstop news about I just find it hard to believe. Maybe you can what's it like in Kiev what's it like in Ukraine I mean ah, then again I think a lot of us have seen your Linkedin.

00:50.35
MC in Kyiv
But not.

00:52.73
karpus
Presentations and they're great. The videos and I gotta tell you Mike there are times when it looks like wow this is a completely normal city and it's beautiful I want to go there but there's other times that you have broadcast a or you've put a video blog up on Linkedin and it's like oh that's.

00:59.97
MC in Kyiv
No, ah we have.

01:10.36
karpus
That's a bit scary.

01:12.22
MC in Kyiv
It right? Well um so probably one of the first things we should do is is is probably take a lot of those you know videos and other things that have gone on Linkedin because it's the only social media that I will actually stomach because as you know I'm not a big fan and we'll move them to the we'll move them to the. Ah. Pure social foundation website right? So people can see them because a lot of people are not on it. They don't you know they may be listening to this right now and going I'm not connected to Mike on Linkedin I've never seen any of these things. Um, but you know the the you know the so I had been in Kiev in.

01:30.36
karpus
Yes, yes.

01:47.20
MC in Kyiv
November of 2013. That's the only other time in my life I've been here. Okay and I was here for two days at some trade show. It was great and it was right before my dad and everybody was bubbling with anticipation. Joining the european union right? So it was November of 2013. You may Harken back and remember this there was a time when the the president at the time or prime minister. Whatever it was president I think his name was yanukovych viktor yanukovych um was set.

02:06.25
karpus
Um, ah.

02:21.98
MC in Kyiv
To go to Brussels and sign the u k they sorry the Ukraine um access papers into the yeah european union right? these same papers that Zelinsky did like a month ago or two months ago or whatever right? I this was 2013

02:28.84
karpus
Yes, right.

02:34.58
karpus
The.

02:38.84
MC in Kyiv
And um, you know I was you know you'd go around Ki and and and there was you know you're you're taking a tax you're doing whatever and there was all these little ribbons tied around lamp posts and railings everywhere and they had um a Ukrainian flag on one side and a Eu flag on the other and everybody was you know, kind of I want to say.

02:57.80
karpus
Um, Wow about the future.

02:58.62
MC in Kyiv
Static or exuberant or whatever. The proper word is about the about joining Europe like finally about there was a future you know because technically Henry Ukraine did not exist has only been around for thirty years thirty years

03:15.26
karpus
Because it was occupied by soviets.

03:17.30
MC in Kyiv
As because it was a soviet satellite. It was a polish satellite. It was somebody else's thing and but the actual nation on the map with the lines that include crimea by the way has only existed since like 92 or something like this.

03:33.84
karpus
Her.

03:36.75
MC in Kyiv
Right? And and so you know this was kind of oh my god we're joining the youth. This is great. This was a clear indication that they were not going to be 1 of these. What do they call them c I s states communist you know, kind of you know they cut the kind of the the states that belong to this russian union they were going to join the european union.

03:56.16
karpus
Ah.

03:56.33
MC in Kyiv
And you know two weeks after I left younukov said he wasn't going to sign the papers that they were going to join this kind of you know what is it ah in a communication or something like this satellite state cis as they're called a federation of independent states.

04:10.79
karpus
You have.

04:15.60
MC in Kyiv
Of the russian federation and that was it. Their future was with Russia not with Europe and the people went bananas. The people were bananas it was called myan because that's the square where people started getting all growly and stuff and they so they were fighting against the police.

04:20.11
karpus
Wow! yep.

04:34.55
MC in Kyiv
It's now been called the revolution of of honor I believe it is okay and so you know back in those days you think the the first invasion of the don basque blue hands can crimea was in February Twenty Fourteen three months

04:40.23
karpus
Ah.

04:52.36
karpus
Wow.

04:52.68
MC in Kyiv
After I was here right? That was the response to the Ukrainian people showing a bit of backbone about wanting their own country right.

05:01.85
karpus
Right? right.

05:02.85
Geoff Glave
And not only not only wanting their own country but but wanting to demonstrate where they want their nation to align. They want their nation to align to Europe and in particular western europe they want their nation to align with democracy freedom. They want their nation to align with um, capitalism and you know with the free trade that that europe would bring and you know and basically the message from the powers that be was no. You can't have any of that.

05:37.19
karpus
Yeah, yeah.

05:39.10
Geoff Glave
And oh by the way we're going to invade you? yeah.

05:41.61
MC in Kyiv
I totally right totally so you know you you you? you? Flash forward now. Um you know in effect what 9 years um and um, there's the. Country's at war it's been at war for this was in August it was like six months and I you know I got the kind of basically somebody real hey I got this idea. Let's go okay and um, I'm like okay, let's go to Ukraine.

06:17.82
MC in Kyiv
Yeah, there's a war on is there anything stopping me from going nope you know the government of Canada is kind of like got the warning on the website we don't advise anybody traveling blah blah blah but people are going right? I mean soldiers are joining and you know aid workers and all this other stuff. So.

06:28.65
karpus
Sure.

06:34.40
Geoff Glave
And even Justin Trudeau went

06:36.79
MC in Kyiv
Are totally exactly just if Justin can go I can go. You know what I'm saying and and so I just kind of said if I've got an opportunity invitation I'm going um and you know like it's because it's personal and as we talked about in the last episode I mean it's ah it's a you know it's a basically a 24 hour flight to get from Vancouver to Warsaw in Poland then it's a 24 hour train to get from warsaw to keep okay and I didn't know what to expect right? I didn't know what to expect when I got here. It didn't know what to expect.

07:05.21
karpus
That.

07:11.63
karpus
Right.

07:13.95
MC in Kyiv
Um, you know, even on the flight I didn't know I didn't know anything about kind of how do I get here what I figured out the prehemage thing after I got here into got into Poland right? Um, and and you know it's it's um.

07:27.70
Geoff Glave
So you consider yourself part of the Ukrainian Diaspoa which obviously you are part of that but I don't you don't speak Ukrainian other than a ah few words like how do you? How do you get around and.

07:41.21
karpus
Communicate.

07:42.88
Geoff Glave
You know, get foodin book a hotel and and how do you? How do you function with the language and and day to day in in another country.

07:49.34
MC in Kyiv
Um, well, it's very interesting right? It's it's so um, one of the one of the things that's happened. So first thing is is um, most of the people in Ukraine, especially the young folks.

08:06.27
karpus
Here.

08:06.27
MC in Kyiv
Speak english and they speak it. They speak it very well. Okay, and you go to all the restaurants and the hotels in the website everything in Ukraine's got a Qr code so just like covid member. You'd go in you'd scan the qr code and the menu would come up well all the restaurants just have that. And when you open it up. There's 2 options for the menu ukrainian and english.

08:26.75
karpus
Yeah, that's right I've went to a website a ukrainian website and even the government ones have a choice of being Ukrainian or english.

08:36.67
MC in Kyiv
Right? But the 1 thing you don't notice is russian what some of them some of them do okay um, but like those ones I'm betting Henry are um, government websites.

08:39.43
karpus
I Actually did see that are you? yeah.

08:40.86
Geoff Glave
Um, yeah.

08:50.83
karpus
Yes.

08:53.12
MC in Kyiv
Because the you know the reality is is. There's a significant portion of the population of Ukraine that is born that were born and raised and and just by virtue of maybe I don't know where they were or whatever they spoke russian I mean who.

09:07.43
karpus
Well absolutely where they lived has been Ukrainian or Russian a few different times.

09:13.13
MC in Kyiv
Totally and if you want to if you want to generalize okay, kind of like in Canada you know you? if you generalize about Canada which is a bilingual country but you want to generalize about Canada you're like Quebec is french everybody else is english and maybe like new brunswi parts of new bruns.

09:31.23
karpus
Her.

09:32.89
MC in Kyiv
In Ukraine it's the eastern regions and crimea but mostly the eastern regions so that Don Bass right that the blue handss can donettesk which were the kind of industrial heartland of the country where all the steel mills and everything were where those people.

09:41.89
karpus
If.

09:52.60
MC in Kyiv
They were so they are still ukrainian okay, because they're in Ukraine and they were parents and grandparents and great grandparents were born here but because of the way that let's say empires or soviet unions. Um. Exercise their political control. It was through controlling language and culture and so you know in order to kind of keep Ukraine as part of a satellite of Russia. There was lots of people that were moved in of russian you know heritage and they soon they later became ukrainian but they still spoke russian.

10:26.40
karpus
Sure.

10:29.36
MC in Kyiv
And and everybody in the country basically speaks Russian and Ukrainian. Okay, and the young people will add English to that and and in fact, in in fact, Ki is a very weird place because they have their own dialect. It's called so Ju so.

10:36.80
karpus
Right? Okay, all right.

10:46.28
karpus
Her.

10:48.91
MC in Kyiv
You have the people from the east and you grow up and you're young and you're in the east and you're like I want to go to the big city and I want to make some big city money. So where do you go? you go to kefe and you got people in the west of the country that are primarily in Ukrainian and say just ukrainian speakers like levive. Turnople Ivano fraifsk these are the countries that are closer to say Poland and cze those people go I want to go to the big city and make some big city money where do they go they go to Keith so what you end up with here is this mishmash and they have this dialect called so jus and so.

11:08.67
karpus
Sure.

11:21.80
MC in Kyiv
Um, so you sit around and I mean ki and I'm like wait a second I mean Ukraine I'm I mean Ukraine I'm in Kiev and you'll hear people saying da instead of ta and you'll hear them saying yet instead of me and they'll be saying stuff like spsiba.

11:36.17
karpus
Right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, thank you instead of yeah.

11:41.80
MC in Kyiv
Right instead of dogbra right? You know what I mean and so this is this is and and you'd ask them. They're saying oh well, it's it's not russian and it's not Ukrainian. It's just kind of a mishmesh of the 2 languages and cultures.

11:44.31
Geoff Glave
Yeah, yeah.

11:57.35
karpus
Okay, okay so much.

12:00.15
Geoff Glave
And I think I think this is um, sorry interrupt Henry but I think this is a really key point that that I think some people don't understand or or aren't aware of is the degree to which Ukraine and Russia are.

12:16.89
karpus
Her.

12:17.25
Geoff Glave
Brother and sister even though 1 of them has come in and beat them up to a bloody pulp and and what have you but all kinds of russians have friends and family in Ukraine. They have the commonality of the language they have you know this almost hybrid language in some parts that that Mike is talking about. So. You know this notion I mean they are just they're just so similar in so many ways it's what makes this this invasion even even more heartbreaking and and and it also I think reflects the struggle putin has had convincing even his own people that.

12:44.24
karpus
Yeah, that's right in it.

12:53.95
Geoff Glave
Ukraine is evil because his own people are what are you time? Well my brother lives there. Um, and I've been there on vacation and it's a great place. This is.

13:01.69
karpus
Well, it's absolutely true and remember the Kevan State a thousand years ago that was the the heart the birth the the genesis of Russia so the whole thing makes no sense but um, but but Mike so you showed up in in in Kiev and okay, fortunately some people spoke english but.

13:14.80
MC in Kyiv
So I hope.

13:18.90
karpus
Like how'd you? How'd you find a hotel where did you go? How did all that work.

13:23.89
MC in Kyiv
Well I mean um, you know Henry it's it's it's um it's actually um, if so I think back to Vancouver. Okay, um, you know nice western city Canada right lot la la. And I come to Kiev and there's you know you go to booking dot com and you can book a hotel you go to Airbnb you can book somebody's flat. Um, you know there's are at the train station. How the heck do I get to my hotel I can use uber or I can use youklog or I can use bolt.

13:47.78
karpus
Sure.

13:58.57
karpus
This.

13:58.62
MC in Kyiv
Got 3 different They're exactly the same um, you know, ah you you, you? some guy drives up, you get the car you go to the thing get to your you get to your hotel and I mean how did I find my hotel. It's my superpower. You know it's it's probably 1 of the most useless superpowers on the faith your face of the earth. But I do have a superpower which is. Can find the coolest um, kind of you know hotel in any place that I go um and so and so you know I found this hotel. It's called hotel bursa. There's a little plug for these guys because they're the best humans on earth and I just you know John um john unre and I who was who's traveling with me.

14:24.71
karpus
Ah.

14:38.27
MC in Kyiv
We we um, showed up in for shemish. We lined up with a bunch of people we got on the train which we you know the day before I just booked onto the Ukraine Railway site go in and say I'm going from per sheish to Keith okay, got you know 2 ah, was a 16 hour overnight train ride got to got a first class sleeper which was basically you know like 2 beds in ah in a cabin. Um and we set off at about 11 p M and got into ki at about three four o'clock in the afternoon the next day.

15:01.50
karpus
Ah.

15:13.45
MC in Kyiv
Ah, then you, you know you're sitting there going. Okay, where am I going? Okay hotel Bursa type it into uber some guy shows up drop your bags in the in the thing and off you go? Yeah and and you know I mean you kind of think Okay, what's going to happen right? Is there going to be is there going to be food in the stores.

15:19.47
karpus
So okay, so it's pretty similar.

15:33.15
MC in Kyiv
Going to be able to like theres a restaurant going to you know I've been to Cuba and gone to all inclusive resorts in in verdero and literally checked in into this quote unquote 5 star resort and there's like 1 face cloth. There's no other towels and I'm like use me can I have some towels.

15:46.42
karpus
Oh man.

15:51.29
MC in Kyiv
And they're like no no, that's all we have today. Okay I so I'm thinking it's not going to happen in keep I come into? no no, totally you know, but this is this this hotel would be an awesome place for anybody to stay anywhere in in Vancouver New York Europe London whatever I'd stay here.

15:54.55
karpus
Yeah, yeah.

16:02.56
karpus
In Europe.

16:09.36
MC in Kyiv
It's it's an old old building. It's one of the it was built by one of the the fathers of the architecture in um, in ki from like the seventeen hundreds and it's been restored and so it's you know, brick and blah blah blah and I can win week John and I come here and you get up in the morning and you have a double cappuccino and you order a.

16:18.67
karpus
Well.

16:28.79
MC in Kyiv
Um, you know an English breakfast and you know it's It's you like what? seriously it's almost like ah you know you have to suspend your disbelief because you're thinking there's going to be tanks rolling down the street and and there's going to be lineups for food and there's going to be nothing to eat and people are going to be like what's going on. No it was.

16:45.30
karpus
It.

16:47.95
MC in Kyiv
It was with the exception of the the kind of the the the hassle of taking like a 16 hour train ride from the polish border to get to Kiev. It was like it was like any other place so I remember um Jeff Jeff and I have talked before in the past about his trips to. East Berlin or or whatever when the wall around the wall with trabants and all this stuff. That's what it's right? It's it's like kind of any other city. Um, but because it was under the soviet sphere. It's a little bit edgy.

17:10.83
karpus
Her.

17:24.58
MC in Kyiv
You know they have these trolley cars that we paint flaking off the side and they I swear to god the whole building roll rocks when they roll by are just because they're like a hundred year old trolley cars that weigh 75 tons right.

17:29.59
karpus
No yeah.

17:36.83
Geoff Glave
But there's a reason they still roll a hundred years later.

17:42.96
karpus
Ah, okay, so this was back in August um, but at that point ah Mike were there. You know, ah power outages were there. Bomb was you know alarms. Ah what was it like then.

17:57.62
MC in Kyiv
Yeah, well so um, so basically what you what everybody in in yivi has in Ukraine has is. There's an app and this app.

17:58.62
karpus
And and now.

18:09.72
MC in Kyiv
Basically is an air raid alert app. So I've been here for like two days okay and and I download this app. It's like 4 in the morning or something like this and also I hear that bur like going off and I'm like I get up and i.

18:11.43
karpus
Of.

18:27.49
MC in Kyiv
Looking out the window I don't know what's going on it sounds like it's right above my head or whatever. It's my fault and it's going off. Yeah, and it's and like literally guys. It's not one of these ones you know how you go through, you could pick the the ringtone for the alerts. It's not like air raid isn't in there. It's like built into this app.

18:33.60
karpus
Um, really.

18:46.38
MC in Kyiv
And it goes off like but I'm freaking out and I'm looking out the window I don't really see anything and I realize my phone and I'm kind of and so for two months three times a day this thing would go off and so and and so what happens this you get and you could hear the sirens. Right? So one of those videos you guys talked about I posted was when I was standing underneath one of the sirens I didn't even know it was on I was underneath it and so the air rates like the old stuff you remember from war movies right out or air raid sirens on the prop of huge buildings. My phone also goes off.

19:15.25
karpus
You're talking about outdoor air raid signs as opposed to your phone chirping. Okay.

19:19.76
Geoff Glave
Um, yeah.

19:22.46
MC in Kyiv
Right? So you basically hear everybody's phone going off and then you hear the air rate sirens and what happens is is is is the reaction in in Kyiv is any business right? So it's a restaurant. It's a grocery store and so whatever they close the doors to the outside. Okay so they close the doors. You're not allowed to come in if you're in It's fine. So if you're eating dinner already. No problem. Um and and but otherwise you stand outside and these things these things would go off 3 times a day and they would last an average of say 30 minutes each time but there was no.

20:01.21
karpus
No indication of anything wrong.

20:02.36
MC in Kyiv
Noticeable anything no indication, no indication.

20:05.43
Geoff Glave
Ah, you're standing outside so that if a missile or or a bomb hits a building Your people aren't inside the building when that happens I do.

20:14.59
MC in Kyiv
Well, the idea is is is theoretically okay, so what you're supposed to do when the air rate siren goes off is go to the basement go to the bunker which thankfully in my hotel is a movie theater. Okay, so I'm like at least like and I can watch Netflix chill but um.

20:19.47
karpus
Oh.

20:24.39
Geoff Glave
Yeah.

20:31.89
MC in Kyiv
I never went in but I just I'm like you know what? I'm here I'm with these people I kind of feel like a part like you know I'm not up at the front I don't have a gun I'm not you know, getting getting shelled or anything the least I can do. Is take the risk that I'm going to go down with them right? So I'm like no I'm not going downstairs and besides none of the other Ukrainians keep are going downstairs either. They literally just stand up. No they all stand outside the doors like looking at their looking at their watches.

20:48.93
karpus
Um, yeah.

21:03.55
MC in Kyiv
Tap on their feet on the ground going when is the air raid going to be over so I can open the door and go back in and get my dinner or buy my shoes or do whatever Totally they're completely used to it. Um, you know, um, and so this is this is kind of the way that life was you know every day. It's a summertime.

21:08.46
karpus
So we've gotten used to it. Okay.

21:22.55
MC in Kyiv
My hotel the fifth floor there's a rooftop kind of bar right? and there's like a hundred people sitting outside you know, but da da I have cocktails the air raid sign goes off doesn't even nobody even blinks right? I mean nobody even blinks and and I you know I and your like so this is this this is the kind of thing that i.

21:33.28
Geoff Glave
Yeah.

21:41.95
MC in Kyiv
You know I've been trying to convey to some people and this was my big thing early on when I was here right was it's not all you know, kind of destruction and bombs and dotdada. There is a normal day to day life like they make a really good negro groni at this hotel.

22:01.25
karpus
Right.

22:01.59
MC in Kyiv
You know what? I mean I'm sitting on the roof well on the 1 hand you're thinking. Oh do you feel guilty that you dada da but the reality is is is what what? I've learned here in this in the first couple of months is the spirit of these people. Is what everybody is is why it's why they're fighting and it's why everybody should be supporting these people right? I mean it's it's Ukraine Henry right? I mean it's 44000000 people who who you know you and I we we both know right? Peaceful farming.

22:19.63
karpus
Right? Yeah yeah.

22:34.12
MC in Kyiv
Right? Leave me alone. Let's just be nice and have kids and family and just that's it and there's they're literally standing up against a superpower right.

22:35.81
karpus
Right? right.

22:44.70
karpus
Yeah, yeah, and a maniac but but but back to that whole airraid concept Mike Am I not mistaken I'm I'm sure but a month ago there were some missiles that hit ki um, and yeah, that must have changed the outlook.

22:47.75
MC in Kyiv
Yeah.

22:56.57
MC in Kyiv
Um, ah.

23:00.29
karpus
To folks.

23:00.40
MC in Kyiv
Well and I mean it it did. Okay so so basically so I'm here for it's August sixth basically two months so is about it was I think it was September tenth if I'm not mistaken. Um, it was another Monday morning like any other Monday morning.

23:15.55
MC in Kyiv
And I got up and and I come walking out of my you know my room. It's like 8 8 8 30 in the morning and there's there's this lady walk running down the hallway going hey right? there right? I'm like I don't I don't worry about it. It happens every day 3 times a day right? and she goes no no, no this time it's keep I'm like what and. You know I go downstairs and everybody's ah everybody's nurse the guest. The staff you know doors are closed. They're like no no, there's there's missiles hitting the hitting the city right now and um, you know like it so and so it it kind of became real.

23:37.14
karpus
Yeah.

23:53.78
MC in Kyiv
In like October on October tenth um and you know we we're sitting out so there's the doors are closed. It was an air raid that lasted 7 hours right so most of them I told you it was 30 minutes so this one 7 hours and we're sitting in the courtyard of the hotel and.

24:03.30
karpus
Wow.

24:13.17
MC in Kyiv
And and there's a bunch of people down the basement in the in the theater. Um, but you know after like an hour or 2 they're like even they can't sit down there anymore. So they kind of came up and I'm like I'm not going down there. Let's sit outside hang up and um it it. Um. It rattled everybody for say a couple of days. Okay, and then the next Monday so the seventeenth of October. Um I get up in the morning and I'm like smells like burning electrical wire and diesel fuel right.

24:32.80
karpus
Oh yeah.

24:49.13
MC in Kyiv
And ah so I go back downstairs and I'm sitting outside and I hear this do do do do do do and then an explosion and it was loud and I like I'm thinking that was close that was close and this was the day that the they sent the first kind of wave of iranian drones made it through.

25:04.64
karpus
Oh those ones that look like Delta Winged aircraft.

25:09.36
MC in Kyiv
This is exactly it exactly it so this is the this is the drone day right? Um, and so so I so I so I'm I'm like okay I got to go and see what happens so I get in the elevator to go to the fifth floor and gold side.

25:14.46
karpus
Ah.

25:25.25
MC in Kyiv
And I'm trying I take my phone out and I'm looking to see if I can see because this one sounded and felt really close but nothing I mean my hotel's in this area called Po deal which is the oldest part of Kiib It's the original um Center of the city and it's down on the shores of the denip.

25:44.60
karpus
Yes.

25:44.86
MC in Kyiv
The Negro River whereas the this part of the city where Mayan and all the government buildings is up this big hill but it's not far. It's like a kiilometer. Okay, and so I'm I'm down below I hear this explosion I'm thinking they're hitting po deal and this has never happened so I go up on the roof and I'm trying to like.

25:52.77
karpus
Yeah, yeah.

26:03.17
MC in Kyiv
Trying to film see if I can see smoke or any of this other kind of stuff and I see nothing and I think okay fine. So I sit down I pull up my computer and I'm doing some work and the one of the girls from the front desk sasha I call her sunshine because she's always smiley and nice and she comes up and she goes Michael. What are you doing up here. No she goes I know I went downstairs. Everybody's in the basement hiding in the bomb shelter but where's Michael oh I bet you he's up on the roof so she comes up and she goes will you please come downstairs and I said I see I go all right? Okay, fine. So I pack up my stuff and we go through the door and you hear the elevator go.

26:43.29
MC in Kyiv
2 cops come walking out of the elevator and the bouncer from the the but the security guy from the hotel and he's kind of shrugging his shoulders at me and it's these 2 cops of of um, a woman and a man come out and the guy goes documents and I go okay and I give him my passport and. So he's he's like literally flipping through my passport taking pictures of all all the pages of my passport and the the the female comp has bright pink hair like Cotton candy pink hair and she's kind of smiling and she looks over at me and she says.

27:01.84
karpus
Wow.

27:18.20
MC in Kyiv
Do you like bdsm and and I I like no seriously I like I like what what she goes? do you like bdsm I said Sunshine did she just say do I like bdsm and and such check goes? Yep and I said um well hell I'll try anything twice.

27:21.90
karpus
Um, what.

27:23.30
Geoff Glave
So.

27:35.93
MC in Kyiv
And so she starts laughing and she sees she says to me she goes Well maybe we should put the handcuffs on you and take you to the police station right? and it turns out that somebody in the apartment building across the street had called the cops because I was on the roof with my iphone. Trying to film some explosion and they reported me as a Russian spy that was guiding the much the Iranian drawing drawing Iranian drones into the target.

27:59.44
Geoff Glave
Oh boy.

28:02.43
karpus
Helping them target.

28:10.45
karpus
You're kidding they thought that you were and then and then that and then the cops after a while realized it's.

28:13.71
MC in Kyiv
Ah, yeah, no the crop just flips over my passport looks at the Canadian thing and goes oh for God's sakes gives me back. My passport says will you go downstairs and stop filming things on the roof and I'm like okay right I'm Idiot an idiot an idiot.

28:25.78
Geoff Glave
You're not a. You're not a spy. You're just a you're just a dumb Canadian hanging out on the roof.

28:29.40
karpus
I do ah that's unbelievable. What a story. Oh Michael.

28:31.91
MC in Kyiv
Yes, that's basically it or but this is but this is you know guys this is kind of what this this place is okay so Kiev is the the longest continuous the longest continuously inhabited capital city in Europe.

28:48.52
karpus
Wow.

28:51.10
MC in Kyiv
It's been the capital of this group of people called ukrainians since four zero seven right so they these churches with the onion domes and all of this stuff. It all started here and and and it's also the greenest capital city in Europe. There's lots of big trees and parks and all of this and it's very important for people to have this kind of outdoor kind of space and connection to the land and everything right? and the people are just unbelievable, right? They are.

29:18.30
karpus
Right.

29:26.67
MC in Kyiv
You know there's it's it's a place where you know the the world right now seems to be fractured left and right like the you know there's these. There's nationalist extreme politics in any direction. You're not my you're left. You're right? and and the 1 thing that I've noticed the most kind of. I guess enartening thing that I've noticed since being here is that there is no division at least in Keith every single person is united in 1 thing and that is winning the war.

29:53.46
karpus
Ah.

29:56.18
karpus
Yeah.

30:01.69
MC in Kyiv
So it doesn't matter if you if you were like a republican and I was a democrat or vice versa before there's none of that anymore.

30:10.20
karpus
Yeah, yeah, yeah, wow Mike that's ah, that's incredible I I we've got to breathe. No no, no, that's but you know what she was obviously realizing that you were no threat and so started to have a little fun with you. But I'm telling you.

30:15.82
MC in Kyiv
I don't know if you're gonna edit out bdsm in a podcast Henry but it it's one of those things. Um, oh yeah.

30:27.53
karpus
Fantastic story. Um I know that you've got to run now. Um, ah what we need to do is is is touch base with you again and do another podcast because you know since you've been out of touch because of power issues because of connection issues because of everything else in Kiev.

30:31.53
MC in Kyiv
Um, yeah.

30:42.97
karpus
Ah, we figured it out and now we can do more of our podcast. So thank you Mike for for making this wow. Okay, great stuff.

30:45.19
MC in Kyiv
Thank you Henry! Thank you Jeff.

30:47.42
Geoff Glave
Thank you Mike and I I said it last week and I'm going to stay it again. Stay safe. My friend stay safe.

30:54.73
MC in Kyiv
Thank you very much I all I always do I try my best but somebody told me the other day. There's a better chance of being hit by lightning than being hit by a missile strike ah or a drone in in Kiev by the russians. So um, there you go.

31:04.79
karpus
Well Slava Ukraini. Mike.

31:11.20
MC in Kyiv
Slava Ukraini

31:12.48
Geoff Glave
Slava Ukraini