• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Home  >  Ukraine 2023 Trip Report  >  My Seatmate Detained At Ukrainian Border…
Ukraine 2023 Trip Report

My Seatmate Detained At Ukrainian Border…

Matthew Klint Posted onFebruary 27, 2023 17 Comments

This week I’m “liveblogging” my trip to Ukraine. Unlike traditional reports, these posts will be shorter and more frequent.


The Ukrainian border formalities were not bad at all…for me at least. One man was not so fortunate.

Ukrainian Border A Breeze For Me, But One Man Pulled Off Bus And Not Allowed To Depart Ukraine

We finally reached the Ukrainian – Polish border (Rivnens’ka) at 11:04 pm. We joined a queue of busses, flanked by cars to our left and lorries (trucks) to the right. After getting in line, several passengers jumped out.

A few of the men walked to the side of the road to urinate…so I did too (too much coffee earlier) while many stood outside in the freezing rain to smoke cigarettes.

An enterprising woman stood outside the bus with a small cart selling coffee (instant) and other drinks.

While I was urinating, the bus pulled away! It made a u-turn and started going down the road in the opposite direction we had just came in.

My heart skipped a beat. What was going on?

Thankfully, the bus came to a stop at a gas station down the road.

Whew!

I walked over to the gas station, where real restrooms were available…too late.

Several passengers poured into the convenience store to buy snacks, but I was still fueled from what I had brought onboard and returned to the bus.

It took 90 minutes, but eventually we inched up to the border station. There, we waited a bit longer and then were ushered into a lobby in which travelers were being stamped out of the country.

A border guard came up to me and started talking to me in Ukrainian. I shrugged, held up my US passport, and said I did not understand him. He nodded and walked away.

But there was another man in front of me in his mid-40s (so too young to leave the country without special clearance). Three guards surrounded him and began harshly interrogating him. He was clearly distraught and these guys, based on their body language, were not buying his story.

He pulled out a black folder filled with official-looking paperwork and the guards began examining it. He was traveling with an older man who stood by his side.

I reached the front of the line and was stamped out of Ukraine without a word. Rejoining the others on the bus we waited for the two men who were still in the border facility.

And waited. And kept waiting.

Nearly an hour passed. Finally, the bus departed and we left them behind. It was now after 2:00 am (though we would gain an hour back when crossing into Poland).

I can only imagine the younger man did not have his paperwork in order to leave Ukraine.

The two open seats have already been scooped up by folks looking to spread out.

Next stop: Polish border

Previous Article War Does Not Excuse Rude Behavior (Wear Your Headphones, Please…)
Next Article Cigarette Smuggling And Polish “Hospitality” At Border

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • Kyiv Ukraine 2023 Photo Essay

    Photo Essay: Ukraine At War

    March 4, 2023
  • JetBlue A321 Mint Reverse Redeye Review

    Review: JetBlue A321 Mint “Reverse Redeye” New York – Los Angeles

    March 3, 2023
  • LOT Polish 787-8 Business Class Review

    Review: LOT Polish 787-8 Business Class Warsaw – New York

    March 2, 2023

17 Comments

  1. John Dogas Reply
    February 27, 2023 at 7:21 pm

    Is that the freedom Ukraine is fighting for where citizens are enslaved and not allowed to leave and made to fight against their will because that doesn’t sound like freedom to me? It’s one thing for a country to have walls and ban foreigners from coming in but to prevent people from leaving who want to seek asylum or refugee status at gun point sounds like what the Soviets did. You just met the face of evil with those Ukrainian border guards, although, those who support them are almost just as bad.

    • Demetri Reply
      February 27, 2023 at 7:41 pm

      Enslavement takes many forms.

      Your assessment of the soldiers actions in Ukraine can as easily describe the attitude of Americans towards women, their bodies and their “right to choose”.

      You might casually demur–“oh it is not the same…” But it is. Society has used circumstances in Ukraine to give itself the right to commandeer, just as politicians and MEN in general, in the US have imposed their will upon women.

      And you can be certain that if war came to the US, the US Congress would promptly empower the military to conscript any man under 50–and perhaps older.

      • PolishKnight Reply
        February 27, 2023 at 8:51 pm

        I’ve heard the comparison between women’s “right to choose” and male military conscription before and it’s an interesting one. Laws regulating what we can do with our bodies in terms of ethics or safety are not new such as restrictions on narcotics or incest. Yeah, I know, gross to bring that up but abortion isn’t an “equality” issue. (Men don’t have an abortion right we’re not granting to women.) In any case, a woman isn’t required to get pregnant and it’s not a federal law regardless.

        What the Russian-Ukraine conflict illustrates, and I think a useful observation of the health of a society in general, is how working class men are treated that are necessary for the society’s defense and survival in wartime and peace. When COVID hit, people found out pretty quickly how “working class” folks kept them fed trucking food and stocking store shelves. The west imports millions of people because the businesses don’t want to pay for the cost of local labor. IMO, the right wing’s “supply side” economics which shored up corporate profits wound up importing a democratic party majority for our foreseeable lifetimes.

        Soldier conscripts who don’t feel respected by society will have poor morale and this is reflected in their effectiveness (or lack thereof). In WWII, the Soviet:German frontline casualty ratio was 3.5:1. “Without the machines we received through Lend-Lease, we would have lost the war.” — Josef Stalin

        From the feeds I’ve followed, Ukrainian mobilization has been a fraction of that of Russia along with Ukraine doing their best to properly equip and arm them to the front lines.

    • rich Reply
      February 27, 2023 at 7:43 pm

      What a clown. What do you think the US did during WW2 to draft dodgers? They were either put in prison or rounded up and forced to join the military.

      Russia is a terrible government and has been for many year and anyone defending it is either delusional or getting paid to do so.

    • Fathiss Reply
      February 27, 2023 at 8:38 pm

      Dear John, This country doesn’t ban foreigners from coming in, only illegal entrants. You’re one of the brain washed here who complain all the while the milk and honey drip from your mouth.
      This is also a country that does not prevent you from leaving. You sound like would be happier elsewhere. We won’t miss you. Goodbye.

    • mrgeek Reply
      February 27, 2023 at 8:44 pm

      And in the USA you must register for the day after when you are 18. If you want to live here and there is a war you have to go fight. It’s the same way in about every country in the world.

  2. Maryland Reply
    February 27, 2023 at 8:21 pm

    @John Dogas In any conflict region you should expect to be met by soldiers at border crossings. If he had been given a pass he still would have been escorted for verification. I don’t know where you live but if you think mother Russia is a better choice I urge you to go. Please let us know how that plays out

  3. Bob Reply
    February 27, 2023 at 9:21 pm

    @Maryland
    It didn’t sound like he said Russia was better. But we didn’t give $100 billion to Russia in aid during the last 12 months while crowing about defending democracy and freedom. It’s two despotic governments having a border dispute and not our role to prop one of them up, with or without the bs ‘freedom’ rhetoric.

    • Fathiss Reply
      February 27, 2023 at 9:55 pm

      Border dispute? You know they initially failed in their attempt at Kyiv? If they succeeded it would have been the whole country. If you minimize country annexation by calling it a border dispute you obviously are oblivious to facts and have a strong Russian or anti-American bias. Do you also call it a “special military operation”?
      Another of the brain-washed, but keep that milk and honey dripping from your lips.

    • Juraj Reply
      February 28, 2023 at 4:28 am

      This is as much a ‘border dispute’ as 9/11 was an ‘act of vandalism on a few high rises’.

  4. Bob Reply
    February 28, 2023 at 11:10 am

    Annexation of one despotic regime by another; call it what you will. Not something I want my government borrowing $100 billion to piss away on and flirt with a nuclear holocaust. It’s a strong minding my own business bias.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 28, 2023 at 11:34 am

      Thanks for your commentary Neville.

      • Bob Reply
        February 28, 2023 at 4:03 pm

        Two things Matthew:

        1. Neville Chamberlain’s agreement with Hitler is credited by many historians with giving the UK time to prepare for war. A war they would have almost certainly lost in 1938. (Merkel has made similar claims recently about the Minsk agreements of 2015 and the subsequent arming of Ukraine). Chamberlain could well be the unsung hero of Britain, so your attempted insult falls a bit flat.

        2. Armchair warhawks’ invocation of ‘Munich 1938’ is surely some version of Godwin’s Law and I’ve been hearing it my entire life (eg Kuwait 1991). The present situation seems much closer to ‘Sarajevo 1914.’ Are we really going to let the events of a non-strategic backwater light the match of a world wide conflagration?

        • Matthew Klint Reply
          February 28, 2023 at 4:34 pm

          Bob, you miss the point about PM Chamberlain. It’s not like he strategically made the agreement with Hitler knowing that Hitler would breach it simply so the UK could better prepare for war. Instead, he showed a colossal lack of discernment in stating,

          “My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time… Go home and get a nice quiet sleep.”

          As Winston Churchill later wrote:

          “That Mr. Chamberlain, with his limited outlook and inexperience of the European scene, should have possessed the self-sufficiency to wave away the proffered hand stretched out across the Atlantic leaves one, even at this date, breathless with amazement. The lack of all sense of proportion, and even of self-preservation, which this episode reveals in an upright, competent, well-meaning man, charged with the destinies of our country and all who depended upon it, is appalling. One cannot today even reconstruct the state of mind which would render such gestures possible.”

          The problem is not that as a byproduct of his stupidity, Britain had time to prepare for war. The stupidity was in making a pact with the devil in the first place.

          And unlike the Iraq War redux, this is not a war of choice, a war of pre-emption. This is a sovereign nation that was attacked and whose enemy has expressed an intent to destroy it. The story does not end well when a menace moves west in the name of grabbing land that it claims historical attachment or entitlement to.

          You are on the wrong side of history, Bob.

          • JorgeGeorge Paez
            February 28, 2023 at 8:06 pm

            “Give them an inch and they will take a mile.”
            Study history much?
            I imagine you think that 100B would be better off spent on tax cuts for your “business.”

          • Matthew Klint
            February 28, 2023 at 8:12 pm

            @JorgeGeorge Paez: Are you talking to Bob or to me?

  5. Bob Reply
    March 1, 2023 at 10:48 pm

    @MatthewKlint
    Umm, I was talking about real historians, not Chamberlain’s contemporary political opponent/successor. Chamberlain likely chose the best of a few options, none of which were good. So you think England should have declared war on Germany in September 1938? Over Czechoslovakia? A country that had existed for 20 whole years?
    I mentioned the first Iraq war which was not preemptive, and was sold to us with fanciful propaganda about Iraqi soldiers pulling babies from incubators.
    “The story does not end well when a menace moves west in the name of grabbing land that it claims historical attachment or entitlement to.” So you think the US will end badly then? Or are you talking about Ukraine and Poland, both of whose borders were moved west after WWII?

    @JorgeGeorge Paez
    No, actually I think the $100 billion should not be spent at all since we don’t have it and it is part of a trillion plus $ federal budget deficit.

    And to both of you, I do study history much. Enough to know it is richer than the black and white propaganda being presented to us. I feel bad for the people of Ukraine and Russia, and I also think they are both poorly governed and not very free. I have no issue with any US citizen volunteering to fight over there, donating their money as they see fit, or even just hanging out in a 5-star western hotel there to get clicks for their blog.

    I suspect when all is said and done, if nuclear war is avoided, that the borders of Ukraine will resemble the electoral breakdown of the 2010 election:
    en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Ukrainian_presidential_election
    We’d probably be there by now if NATO wasn’t so willing to spill Ukrainian blood to weaken Russia.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Ukrainian Trip Report

  1. First Stop, United Polaris Lounge LAX For Breakfast
  2. Review: United Airlines 787-10 Business Class Los Angeles – Chicago
  3. Review: United Airlines 767-300 Polaris Business Class Chicago – Zurich
  4. There’s A Pilot In My Seat!
  5. United Flight Attendant Demonstrates How Loyalty Is Won
  6. SWISS Alpine Lounge In Zurich Is Delectable
  7. The Language Enigma Of Switzerland
  8. Review: SWISS A320 Economy Class
  9. Public Transit In Warsaw: Bring Cash
  10. Abysmal Currency Exchange Rates At Warsaw Airport
  11. I Scored A Train Ticket To Kyiv!
  12. My 18-Hour Train Ride From Warsaw To Kyiv
  13. Air Raid Sirens In Kyiv
  14. Amidst War, A Thriving Coffee Culture In Kyiv
  15. *Sigh* I Left My Apple Watch On The Kyiv Express Train…
  16. Honest Ukraine: I Recovered My Lost Apple Watch!
  17. Renting A Car In Kyiv: My Experience With Budget
  18. My Extraordinary Road Trip In Ukraine
  19. Train To Chișinău Or Bus To Warsaw?
  20. Breakfast With Media And Mercenaries At Hyatt Regency Kyiv
  21. Review: Hyatt Regency Kyiv
  22. Sanctuary From Russian Bombs In A Kyiv Church Basement
  23. Banksy’s War Art In Ukraine
  24. A Ride On The Kyiv Metro
  25. My “Luxury” Bus Ride From Kyiv To Warsaw Is Off To A Rough Start…
  26. Bladders Of Steel On The Kyiv – Warsaw Bus
  27. My Precious Seatmate Won’t Leave Me Alone!
  28. Mother Places Three-Year-Old In Overhead Bin So She Can Sleep
  29. Cigarette Smuggling And Polish “Hospitality” At Border
  30. Late Arrival Creates Flight Dilemma In Poland

Recent Posts

  • United Airlines Adds Château d’Esclans Rosé Wine To Polaris Business Class March 23, 2023
  • United Airlines 737-700 Business Class Review
    Review: United Airlines 737-700 Business Class March 22, 2023
  • Southwest Airlines Helicopter
    Southwest Airlines Flight Nearly Collides With Helicopter March 22, 2023
  • Copa Club Bogota Review
    Review: Copa Club Bogota (BOG) March 22, 2023

Categories

Popular Posts

  • American Airlines unaccompanied Minor Predator
    American Airlines Flight Attendant Freaks Out After Man Offers His First Class Seat To Child February 25, 2023
  • Kayleigh Scott United Airlines
    The Tragic Death Of A United Airlines Flight Attendant March 21, 2023
  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) February 21, 2023
  • There’s A Pilot In My Seat! February 21, 2023

Archives

March 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Feb    

As seen on:

live_and_lets_fly

The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles is the most beautiful of all Polaris Lounges. Stay tuned for a detailed look and many more photos on the blog tomorrow. Well done @united.
@malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire i @malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire its A380 fleet. While not surprising, it is sad to see the growing list of carriers retiring this superjumbo jet. On Malaysia Airlines, I flew the #A380 once from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London (LHR) and had the entire first class cabin to myself (full review on the blog). It was a beautiful flight that I will always remember.
Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited tha Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited that a new carrier, Avelo, has launched, especially from an airport just 12 minutes from my home!
I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxairport. Hopefully this summer it will return.

.
.
.
.
#Lufthansa #FirstClass #747 #747-8 #StarAlliance #Miles #Points
I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. This is not only a lovely, all-inclusive resort, but one of the best properties to use your @hyatt World of Hyatt points.
.
.
.
.
#Hyatt #BigSur #California #WorldofHyatt #CA-1 #Points #Hotels
In terms of a spacious first class product, the @E In terms of a spacious first class product, the @Emirates suite on a 777-300ER is hard to beat. My preference is Suite 2K.

.
.
.
.
#Emirates #777 #firstclass
Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from I Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from Instagram ahead of the birth of my first child. Goodness, how time flies. While I’ve enjoyed catching up on others over the years, now it is time for me to return to Instagram. In this first post, I highlight two joys in my life, my two children, whom I trust will grow up to be prolific travelers that circumnavigate the globe as ambassadors of love and respect.

.
.
.
.
.

#travel #airplanes #airlines #miles #points #familytravel #human #integrity #honor
United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improv United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improvement over UA's current business class seat. Check out my blog at liveandletsfly.com for 70+ photos of how @united is transforming its entire business class experience starting this December!
The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben! The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben!
Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen - Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen -- oh, and I love 40°F summer weather!
One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure of flying with in all my years of flying. Thank you @flysas SK940 on 11 Aug 2016
Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I a Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I assign a window seat months in advance, don't move me to a center seat "for my convenience" with no way to get my original seat back... 😞
Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be rac Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be racing the #Delta flight to JFK at the gate next to us, which also departs at 12:45p. With @onemileatatime
Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregenc Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregencycasablanca #cassablanca #hyatt
Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the i Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the inside of the @grandhyatt_shanghai ... It is 40°C outside! 😓
From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minut From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minutes flat. I ❤️ #bur #burbankairport
@malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in se @malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in service at #kul -- beautiful livery!
View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful bran View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful brand new @parkhyattguangzhou -- look for a full review coming soon on the blog #hyatt #parkhyatt #guangzhou #parkhyattguangzhou
Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, which closes tomorrow and the Queen of the Skies #747 which will be retired in 2018.
The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. If you're ever here, get up at 5am and have a walk around the city before it gets busy. You can hear the birds instead of honking horns.
Load More... Follow on Instagram
facebook twitter instagram rss

This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

 

Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.

 

Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.