‘This is our home’: The Americans who refuse to leave Ukraine

The US government has urged its citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, citing the threat of imminent Russian invasion. Not all US citizens who live in Ukraine are taking this advice.

The West has dismissed Russian claims of a partial troop withdrawal and US officials continue to believe that Moscow could attack at any time.

But many here don’t believe that a full-scale attack on Kyiv is imminent, despite warnings from intelligence sources quoted in the media.

The question of whether to leave Ukraine is currently one of the most discussed in expat social media groups, which includes people who came to Ukraine on a short visit and those who have lived here for a long time.

BBC News Ukraine spoke to some Americans in Ukraine – businessmen, teachers, volunteers – and asked them about their decision to stay.

Sean Almeida was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but he has been building a business in Kyiv since 2014.

He is the director of a real estate company and now, despite the threat, does not intend to flee Ukraine.

“I did not leave during the Maidan revolution [protests in 2013 and 2014 that led to the overthrow of Ukraine’s president Viktor Yanukovych], or when Russia annexed Crimea, or during the start of hostilities in the Donbas,” he told the BBC.

“Let Biden say what he wants, but I am not going to panic and leave the country that has long since become my home.”

Sean does not believe that the Russian invasion is as inevitable as Western media and diplomats say.

The American not only does business in Ukraine but has also started a family.

“I have a family here, and my daughter was born over a year ago,” he said.

Ahead of 16 February, the day on which US officials said Russia might begin its attack, the businessman sent his family to Lviv in the west of Ukraine.

Some countries have relocated their embassies to Lviv, as it is further away from the border with Russia.

Sean saw off his wife, mother-in-law and two daughters but himself was determined not to leave Kyiv.

No one from the US embassy has contacted him about evacuation, he added.

Former US soldier David Plaster has been in Ukraine for almost 10 years, actively volunteering within the local community and quite a public personality.

He takes part in the filming of a YouTube show called Stop the Moose, a public initiative to change the behaviour of rude drivers.

He is also involved in community projects to improve what he now describes as his native neighbourhood – Kyiv’s Borshchahivka suburb.

Training Ukrainian soldiers in tactical medicine as well as teaching them English, David took part in the Maidan protests and has been to the frontline in eastern Ukraine.

When asked why he does not fear a potential Russian attack and need to leave Kyiv, he simply answers: “Because this is my home.”

Reflecting on what he likes most in Ukraine, he immediately declares “borsch and pampushki (garlic donuts)!”

Then, more seriously, he adds that he loves the country because of the friends he has made and the people he has met here.

James Martin was born in a small town in Iowa, graduated from the University of Michigan, and later studied at the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys.

When James moved to Kyiv, he began working as an English teacher while acting at the same time.

News of a possible Russian invasion has not changed his plans and he decided to ignore the White House’s call for evacuation.

“I’m not leaving Ukraine, but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect Biden or the government,” he told BBC News Ukrainian.

James has a large family in Iowa, but earlier this month he got married in Ukraine and his wife Ira is part of the family now, too.

“I think if people are still here now, those people won’t leave,” James said. “There have been plenty of warnings.”

Niklas Theeke, from Detroit, Michigan, has been in Ukraine for only 18 months.

In November 2020, he moved to Dnipro, a large industrial city in central Ukraine where he taught English.

Last May, he moved to Kyiv, also to teach English.

Now he has no plans to leave Ukraine and return to the US.

Niklas told the BBC: “We are ready to fight if need be. We are prepared and this is home for very many. Together we are unified and strong. My choice to stay here was very easy! It’s home, friends and family.”

When asked about his confidence in the Ukrainian army, he said: “They are more capable now than back in 2014. They are stronger and united, but I think a lot of blood will be shed and it will be very bad.”

“We just want peace,” Niklas said, adding: “Glory to Ukraine!”

Alicia Day lives in Dnipro. She fears an invasion but is not going to leave, for personal reasons.

“I am staying in Ukraine for multiple reasons,” she said.

“One, Vladimir said he wasn’t going to invade, so I don’t want to leave for nothing. Two, I’m not vaccinated. Three, my husband is in the hospital. Four, I am hoping that if they come, we will survive.”

Alicia is an animal rights activist and a vegan.

She says she cannot leave her pets: a piglet and a calf. When she bought them, she was saving them from being slaughtered.

Alicia keeps the animals in a rented apartment and walks them in the yard.

Last autumn, other residents of her apartment block, unhappy with having animals for neighbours, called the police and the animals were sent to a shelter.

Now Alicia visits and takes care of them there.