Comedian Serzh raises arms against Russian threat: "A win-win situation"

According to him, Serzh Velychanskyi would take up arms for a long time.

During his 50 years, he has made a career as an actor and comedian in the capital Kiev, far from the fighting in the eastern parts of the country.

- I'm as far from a military as you can get.

When I was in the army many years ago, I was a drummer and never fired a shot.

If the worst case scenario happens, I want to be able to defend my city, my family and my friends, but I would not know how.

For Serzh, the solution was to join Ukraine's "Territorial Defense", a branch of defense made up of volunteers.

Once a week, he now undergoes, among other things, weapons training to be able to defend the country.

He does not want to speculate on the "worst-case scenario" that Serzh is preparing for, but he does not rule out that his city could be the target of a Russian invasion.

- Missiles could certainly fall here.

I'm not saying it will happen, but if it does, it's better to be ready than not to be.

And even if it does not happen, I get a new hobby, meet new people and exercise during the weekends.

It's a win-win situation.

"Like we got a vaccine against the threat"

According to Serzh, there is no doubt that the threat from Russia has become more apparent in recent times, but when it comes to the actual risk of an invasion, the picture is divided.

While foreign nationals are called home and flights are stopped, other voices are urged to calm down, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The comedian can understand the attitude of both sides.

- One must remember that we have lived in an information war for eight years.

We are met by two, three, four such news every day.

It's like we got a vaccine against the threat from Russia, it almost does not surprise us.

However, this does not mean that life in Ukraine is not affected at all by the security situation, according to Serzh.

The uncertainty is great, and for the humor industry, the security situation is another hard blow after a long period of corona restrictions.

- People do not dare to buy tickets even a week in advance, because we do not know what will happen.

But we are working on a show now that we call "Nowhere to run", where we invite foreign citizens to sit in the audience.

I think humor is a good tool for overcoming anxiety.