Activist and former “Kvartal 95” star Iryna Soponaru has left Kyiv alongside her husband, British national Rhys Baynham, relocating to her hometown of Chernivtsi following weeks of severe disruptions to her sleep and well-being caused by ongoing capital city shelling and blackouts.
The decision to leave the capital came after months of mounting pressure. Soponaru, who recently celebrated her 40th birthday, explained in an interview with Naodynci z Glamurom that she and her husband held out in Kyiv as long as possible as conditions deteriorated. The situation intensified around August, marked by frequent attacks and rolling power outages that robbed the comedian of normal rest for weeks on end.
The toll on Soponaru’s mental health became severe enough that she contemplated seeking professional counseling and medical help before realizing her primary ailment was simply a desperate need for sleep uninterrupted by blackouts.
Rhys and I held on for as long as we could hold on. But from about August, when they really started pounding us, we held on a bit longer, but we’ve spent several weeks without normal sleep. My roof started leaking, I was even thinking of seeing a psychologist, maybe I need to take some pills. It turned out I just needed to sleep,
Iryna Soponaru, actress and comedian
Seeking stability and a respite from the dark, cold winter ahead in the capital, the couple packed their belongings and headed west to stay with her parents.
We decided to go to Chernivtsi for now, to my dear mother. To my parents. We will definitely be there until the end of winter. I hope until the end of winter. I don’t know what should change in the spring, but at least we want to wait out all these terrible blackouts there,
Iryna Soponaru, actress and comedian
Winter Plans in Chernivtsi
The couple intends to ride out the winter months in Chernivtsi, banking on a return to Kyiv by spring if the security situation permits stable electricity supplies. While she stepped away from her regular role in the “Kvartal 95” studio at the end of 2025 due to professional burnout, Soponaru has not ruled out future television appearances once settled. Her focus remains firmly fixed on recovery and weathering the winter far from the energy grid crisis.
In her interview regarding the move, Soponaru noted that her husband Rhys has embraced life in Ukraine since their 2023 wedding in Kyiv, learning the language in a matter of months and wearing a traditional embroidered shirt for their ceremony. Reflecting on the war, she also touched upon the difficult emotional reality of family planning and the displacement affecting Ukrainians, noting that other public figures such as actress Viktoriya Maremukha have similarly found themselves compelled to relocate with their children from the capital to protect their families from active danger.
Although the constant threat of aerial strikes and infrastructure attacks continues to weigh heavily on citizens across the country, Soponaru stressed that her temporary relocation is strictly designed to outlast the harshest winter darkness. She emphasized that abandoning the country entirely feels like a defeat to her personal connection to Kyiv, where she built her career and sought to maintain an illusion of normalcy. For the time being, the comedian and her husband remain focused on regaining their peace of mind in Chernivtsi, supported by family as they wait for the spring thaw and improved conditions in the capital.
Will conditions in Kyiv improve enough by spring for Soponaru and her husband to return home as they hope?
