IT expert helping to keep his fellow Ukraine nationals safe
A YOUNG Ukrainian man who grew up in Navan is playing a vital role in helping his countrymen and women survive the intense fighting, following the Russian invasion of his homeland.
Vladislav Zhdanko is uploading information to the internet on what trains are running, the location of bomb shelters, where the blood donation centres are and what pharmacies, banks and shops are open.
"It is good to be able to do something," he said. While doing this vital work, he is constantly worrying about his family in Ukraine, including his father, aunt and grandparents who live close to the border of the embattled Donetsk region.
"There is a lot of panic and uncertainty," he says. "My aunt told me the sky was orange last night. Sunday was the worst night for bombing, but they are holding on," he said.
Vladislav is working from his home in Canterbrook, Navan for an IT company involved in mapping and is using his expertise to upload vital information for the people of Ukraine.
"We usually do a lot of work on transport and in Ukraine at the moment, the transport situation is changing all the time.
"In Kyiv, there is a lot of fighting and many of the metro stations are closed and being used as bomb shelters.
"I am uploading information on where the bomb shelters are, so people know where to go when there is fighting and bombing. I upload information on what trains are running. I add information on what banks are open, what pharmacies are open, where the blood donation centres are - many of these are now operating 24/7.
"We are also uploading information on new routes that are being laid on to help people escape the fighting and on what shops are open. "I have been asked to continue working over the weekend and I happy to do it. It is good to be helping in some way."
Vladislav has been living in Ireland for the past 12 years and went to school in Beaufort College, starting in first year when he arrived in Ireland.
He is from the city of Zaporizhia in eastern Ukraine, close to some of the most intensive fighting. There is a lot of panic and confusion.
"There has been a lot of street fighting and that is something people really fear.
"For now, everything is unclear for my family. My aunt is trying to persuade my grandparents to leave the city for safety, but they are old and aren't sure they would be able for the journey.
"My aunt went to the shop this morning and it was empty, there is very little left in the shops. I am very worried about them, nobody knows what is next. Nobody predicted this. We knew they were likely to invade the Donetsk region, but we didn't realise they would invade the entire country."
Vladislav always spent three months of the summer in Ukraine and visited there last August.
"There was a lot of new development in country, but now everything is under threat.
"I am keeping in touch with my family and hoping for the best."
Cllr Eddie Fennessy, a friend of Vladislav's expressed his concern for his family in Ukraine. "I condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a naked act of aggression against a sovereign state. Russian president Vladimir Putin is driven purely by an imperialist ambition with no care for the safety and security of ordinary people across the region.
"Sinn Féin support calls for the strongest possible sanctions to be taken against Russia. President Putin's aggression is an attack on international peace and must be condemned by all."