I would be looking to escape as well. This is a war between the two most corrupt countries in Europe, like showdown between the Bloods and the Crips. Who needs either one of them?

By Bethany Dawson, Insider

Andriy (not his real name) thought the major change in his life would be his gender transition from female to male. But when the Russian bombs started to fall on Kyiv, Ukraine, he was forced to embark on another journey — from a citizen of Ukraine to a war refugee.

Like the 2 million Ukrainian refugees who woke up one day to the terrifying sound of shelling, Andriy, 19, realized that Putin’s invasion of his homeland meant the end of his life as he knew it.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are trans or not. The war is scary for everybody. I know even strong, big men who are afraid when they hear bombing,” Andriy told Insider.

“I had a nice job, goals, plans, apartment, but I just can’t think about Kyiv under Russia or Putin as our president,” he said. “I didn’t know how I could stay in Kyiv during the war. We haven’t been living. We were surviving — always hiding, checking the news, hearing sirens.”

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