How to support your Ukrainian colleagues and friends

Words by Olga Kravchenko

My name is Olga Kravchenko, and I am Ukrainian. My country was invaded by Russia. Martial law has been introduced. Major cities are under missile attack. My family is in Kyiv, and they can't leave the country. The sky is closed. They hear explosions, and they hear sirens. They don't know what to do.

Neither do my team. My team of three amazing people are now in the middle of the war conflict. My team is based in three major cities, Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv, 40 km away from the border with Russia.

No one taught me what CEO needs to do when the war starts. This is not the lesson I ever wanted or was ready to learn.

I have messaged my team this morning and have asked them to let me know if I can do anything to help. However, unfortunately, there is nothing I really can do.

I can only be there for them and their families and be ready to provide emotional support if they ask for it.

Why am I writing this? You might also be in the same situation as a CEO or a manager.

Check with your HR if you have any Ukrainian nationals hired within your company and reach out to them ASAP. The ones now in Ukraine are living through the worst nightmare, and they are scared for their lives and their future. It would help if you were prepared to accept that these people are now in survival mode and might be ordered to go to shelters.

They might lose any connection with the outside world. They might choose to stay offline as much as possible to avoid informational distress. They need to know that they have your support.

The ones who are Ukrainians but who live outside Ukraine (like myself, I live in the UK) also need your support now. We can't believe it's happening, and our minds are trying hard to stay sane. This is getting harder and harder with every minute.

We know that the connection is unstable and might drop eventually (and temporarily), and we won't be able to stay in touch with our families. It is scary to even think about it.

Ukrainians are strong and resilient, but let's be clear - no one was ready for the war in the 21st century. No, let's rephrase it - we were prepared as we've been living under constant threat and pressure for the last eight years, but we didn't want to believe it could get worse.

Please be kind and switch your empathy levels to the maximum for people around you. Please show that you care about your Ukrainian employees and their families. Please support Ukraine.

There is no justification for the violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. There is no excuse for the invasion. There is no excuse for the loss that this WAR has already caused and all the future losses it will cause.

If you want to support Ukraine and Ukrainian military services, this is the official and legitimate link where you can do so

Olga Kravchenko is the CEO at Musemio, which aims to make arts, culture and history accessible for every child.