If there’s a Singaporean that everyone can identify as the face representing Ukraine at this time, it’s former actor Ix Shen.
And for those who’ve been keeping up with the news, you might know that Mr Shen and his Ukrainian wife fled Ukraine for Poland last month as it was no longer safe for the couple to remain in the country.
However, on Friday (8 April), Mr Shen took to Instagram to announce that he was back in Ukraine to offer his help in “humanitarian” efforts.
In his post, he revealed that he was in a “safe place” but would not be exposing details regarding where he was stationed due to “security reasons”.
Mr Shen, who has assumed the unofficial role of Singapore’s war respondent since Russia invaded Ukraine, also mentioned that he is now part of a group of volunteers who will be providing those in Ukraine with humanitarian aid from Poland.
According to Mr Shen, the group he is part of a group that primarily provides Ukrainians still in the country with various supplies and necessities.
“So we stocked up the supplies in the vehicles, we drive across the border and redistribute them in different centres,” Mr Shen said.
The Current State of Bucha
He also added that one of the centres that his group is responsible for providing supplies to is situated in Bucha, a town in Ukraine.
AFP previously disclosed that the Russian forces took over Bucha and occupied the town when the invasion first began.
Additionally, Ukraine has since claimed that Russia initiated a “massacre” in the town, conducting war crimes by killing innocent civilians during their time in Bucha.
With regards to these accusations, the Kremlin has denied them.
As of now, Ukrainian investigators have started exhuming a mass grave in Bucha despite the Kremlin’s denial.
The actions taken by the investigators, which started on Friday (8 April), marked the beginning of the investigations into the war crimes carried out by the Russian troops in the area.
According to Ukrainians in the area, members of the Russian armed forces killed many in the town when they first invaded the area on 26 February.
The Ukrainians who were able to survive the attacks had to bury their neighbours in the grave, which is a long, deep trench in mud. The grave is situated behind a gold-domed church.
In response to the current state that Bucha is in now, Mr Shen also told viewers, “I believe by now you should have heard of this place.
“This issue right now is being contested by different parties. Since I’m not an expert in putrefaction, I’m not qualified to comment.”
Comparison to Singapore’s Experience during WWII
Mr Shen also compared the current state of Bucha and Ukraine to Singapore’s fate during World War II, in particular the Sook Ching massacre that took place in Singapore.
The Sook Ching massacre was a Japanese military operation that took place during the Japanese occupation and was supposed to purge “anti-Japanese elements” from the Chinese in Singapore.
In the video, he spoke, “Eighty years ago, also in the month of March, we had innocent civilians being slaughtered, and back then we didn’t have forensic science.
“Our forefathers paid such (a) heavy price and gave us such precious lessons. How can we not unturn our backs towards injustice?”
When making the comparison, Mr Shen remarked in a hopeful tone that “truth always prevails because the same thing happened to us before”.
Featured Image: Instagram (@ix_shen)