Car containing important personal, medical documents stolen from Ukrainian war refugees
SEATAC, Wash. - Thefts of Kia vehicles have been on the rise across the country and locally with TikTok videos showing someone how to steal them with just a USB cable. For one couple, the theft of their Kia was more than just a mode of transport: the car contained important documents needed to get by.
Fialkora and Antaolii Myndru are refugees from the war in Ukraine, staying in SeaTac.
"We saw Russian tanks, we saw a lot of bombs," Fialkora recalled. "Sometimes, [I] get flashbacks in my mind."
Fialkora has had a hard time feeling safe since she and her husband fled their home in central Ukraine during the attacks from Russian troops.
They thought they had found safe haven when they came to Washington state four months ago as part of a humanitarian relief program.
The couple said they felt that all sense of their security was destroyed when someone stole their 2015 Kia Soul. Inside the car was all their documents: both their Ukrainian documents, identifying papers and medical records.
Now, they're trying to navigate the complex maze of paperwork requiring in-person visits to Ukrainian consulates, all without reliable transportation and important medical supplies that were also taken in the theft.
"Ukrainian passports, all my disabled documents, all our medical documents about some protocol of drugs (medication) and some protocols of rehabilitation because I have multiple sclerosis," Fialkora said.
Investigators say at this time they have no suspect in this case.
The vehicle is a 2015 dark gray Kia Soul with WA plates CFD2907. The Kia has a dent in the rear passenger side bumper and a circular sticker with the blue and yellow Ukraine flag on the upper left corner of the back windshield.