We are posting a series of articles with stories from our employees in Ukraine in their own words. Below is one of those stories; if you'd like to read more, click here.
Nelly
The war caught me at my parents’ home in Mykolaiv. On February 24th, I was supposed to get back home to Kyiv. Well, I planned to… On that day, all the Ukrainians woke up because of the sounds of bombing all over the country. I grabbed my phone to check the news feed and realized it was Putin’s war against Ukraine. No need to say that we were all swept away by horror, despair, and uncertainty. At the same time, I was glad to be with my loved ones in such a devastating moment. I decided to stay in Mykolaiv and work from there until it was safe to return to Kyiv. While air raid alerts went off in almost every region of Ukraine, my team and I did our best to find a safe place and continue providing support for FTM users. It was, and it is still, so touching to hear the words of support from our customers.
A week later, I realized it was impossible to be productive when you heard explosions nearby with increased frequency. I and a part of my family decided to accept the offer from Software MacKiev and temporarily relocate to Western Ukraine in Camp MacKiev. I feel very grateful to our management for the opportunity to live and work in a quiet, relatively safe, and picturesque resort. Still, there is no place like home, and one month later, I returned to Kyiv.
Currently, I am at home in Kyiv with a tremendous hope that the city’s life will be revived soon and that rocket attacks will wane. So far, I am trying to follow the safety rules and have equipped my workplace due to the rule of two walls. This way, it is more or less safe during the bombing. Despite all this incredible pain during the last two months, I admire people who volunteer and help, our foreign friends who support and donate, and our brave soldiers protecting our motherland. I sincerely believe the values of freedom and democracy Ukraine fights for will win. Glory to Ukraine!
Update:
The invasion of Ukraine approaches the one-year mark on February 24, 2023. I am sure, all the Ukrainians will grieve and remember the devastation that has rocked our country. Millions of people were forced to leave their homes in search of safety. I’ve been at home in Kyiv from the moment I returned back from Camp MacKiev in April last year. During the summer months, at first glance, outward signs of the war were less apparent in the capital of Ukraine. But, our winter’s been full of electricity, water and connectivity outages. Russia's drone and missile attacks on the city still do not allow people to relax and live their happy lives.
Despite all these horrible things, life goes on: we are doing our best to stay strong and safe; we continue to work to be able to donate money on special equipment, medicine, treatment, and so on for the needs of our army. We are preparing for a Ukrainian victory and looking forward to the country’s recovery.