Due to the constant shelling from Russia, many Kharkiv residents were forced to leave their homes. Among them is Evgeny Vlasyuk, a businessman who evacuated from the city and managed to open his own business in Lviv in just 2 months with friends. talked to Evgeny Vlasyuk. A Kharkiv resident told how the first days of the war were in Kharkiv, a regional center located near the border with Russia and since the beginning of the invasion has been suffering from enemy shelling. And also about evacuation, volunteering, relatives that Yevhen found in Lviv during the war, and a bistro that the businessman and his friends managed to open in the city of Lviv.
“It all ended right in one moment”: about the beginning of the war
What was your life like before February 24? What did you do in Kharkov?
Quiet (laughs) . Engaged in healthy food delivery. Perhaps by the age of 6 we were building this business with partners, and everything was already set up. You sit to yourself, everything is done by itself, and there is a result. It all ended on February 24, just in one moment…
But we distributed all the food for humanitarian needs. First, they fed the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they just filled up the guys with food so that it would not disappear. It was only later that we realized that it was necessary to somehow distribute these products.
In the first days of the war, volunteers fed thousands of Ukrainians/Photo by Evgeny Vlasyuk< /p>
Perhaps, for every Ukrainian, life was divided between February 24 and after. How did you hear about Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine?
I woke up at 5 am, started calling everyone. I called a friend and asked: “What are you doing?” And he answered: “That's it, I'm leaving.” I already had my suitcase packed, the girl and I also got ready, but did not leave. We stopped at the factory, where my kitchen is located, because there was a lot of food there, already ready, which was supposed to be delivered in the morning. And the couriers also called me on the phone and asked if we would deliver it today, and I: “No, perhaps not.” “But people want to eat, perhaps,” – such responsible couriers (smiles).
So what, in general, everything was packed in refrigerators, because leaving food on the tables, it is not known for how long, is not an option. And then we sat for a while and decided to stay. However, we did not stay for long, somewhere literally in the first days of March we left Kharkiv.
Then, for the first time, a rocket “flew” into the city on Maidan Svoboda.
Kharkov is suffering from shelling of Russians since the beginning of the war/Photo from instagram Orlova.help
How did you manage to evacuate from Kharkov?
We did not travel by car, but by train, because then it was impossible to leave Kharkov by car. Or rather, it was possible, but a little scary.
I know that many have killed or “Something else happened to them, the car broke down. So we decided to go by train. There was no hype back then. We arrived at the station, it was just empty, not a single person.
Probably, people didn't know what to do then…
Yes. We sat directly on the train, calmly. Even then there were a lot of people, we were traveling in six in one compartment, but in general, we drove normally. Because the next day or after 3 – 4 then it was already difficult, everyone realized that they had to go, that everything would not end soon.
My father, and he is a military man, said: “If you see equipment, whether it is ours or the enemy, it means that you must immediately leave the city. Firstly, you will interfere with the Armed Forces, your own. You will turn on the light at the wrong time , something else, they’ll shoot… You don’t know where anyone is.
And I also had such a jacket, spotted, khaki color. I didn’t know what to do at all, because all things stayed in one apartment, and we – in another, with friends.
We arrived here already on March 1 or 2, got off at the station in Lviv, and here is a tent city, a field kitchen, and we are like: “Oh, God, it's the same here.” We approach people and ask: “What are the rules here?” Because in Kharkov at that time there was a round-the-clock curfew, that is, it was impossible to leave or go anywhere at all. The DRG then went.
And what is military Kharkov like in general?
In fact, the people who live now, our friends, they basically do not understand that we're doing (laughs) here. It's quiet in Kharkiv, as they say.
I was in Kharkov not so long ago, I came there with a friend and there was some kind of dissonance. Well, it's definitely a war, more severe.
Hundreds of houses were damaged from shelling in Kharkov/Photo by Vladislav Lyubchenko
If we compare: Lviv, in principle, has always been associated with such a holiday city. So that's where it's left. Well, yes, there are some alarms both in the air and somewhere inside. But in general, everything has remained the same: it is a holiday city.
But in Kharkov, the world is a little stricter. Like Mad Max (“Mad Max”).
Burned equipment in Kharkiv/Photo from Instagram Orlova.help
< strong>What Kharkov is like during the war: watch the video (WARNING! The video contains obscene language)
You know, we recently compared like this, because fuel, food and water were important in Kharkov a month ago . Everything else is not important.
“It all started with the metro”: how Kharkiv residents volunteered under shelling
From the first days of the full-scale invasion, you were one of the participants in the Orlova.help volunteer hub, which helped and still helps the residents of the city and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. What stories are most memorable?
It all started with the subway. Many people were hiding there. Some stations had 1,500 people. For the underground, this is a lot. Normal for a station is 100 people.
They didn't have anything there. I gave my water filter to the station, my friends – karimats, sleeping bags. Then we started looking for sports stores with equipment for climbing, hiking and wanted to buy such goods at cost. What will they do with him? Then there was an unpleasant story: one entrepreneur made a discount of only 10%. In those conditions, no one thought about money, they bought everything from him. But this fact stunned, because it happened in Kharkov! He is the same as we are, he saw everything with his own eyes.
“Gazelle” stuffed with carimats and sleeping bags – all this was sent to metro stations.
My friend told me that they went through the stations, along the subway flights, and so they sent the cooked food. And now the curfew, the guys run, run to the station. And the metro was closed at night with a gate, the door is very massive. This is essentially armor – as soon as the door closes, that's it, you won't go there. We call our friends, we say: “Run now, right now, they will give you food there.” Once volunteers ran up, agreed with the policeman at the entrance, he opens the gate, and behind them are military men with machine guns. Those were the first days of the war… And no one knows: ours are not ours.
And he says: “We look at each other and do not know what to say. And only : “Food. And Glory to Ukraine!” In response: “Glory to the Heroes.” And then everyone sighed, thank God, everything is fine.
Subsequently, it turned out that it was our friends who asked the guys from the Armed Forces of Ukraine to help bring that food.
There were many stories about volunteering, especially in the first days of the war. I remember some girl calling and saying: “There is an intestinal infection at the Historical Museum station.” There was no normal water, E. coli appeared, and all 150 people complained of stomach pain. There were about 15 other children there. And somehow, because of my therapist, we found a box of nifuroxazide.
As I remember now: “Victoria Anatolyevna, all the people there feel bad, diarrhea.” And she: “I have a box of nifuroxazide just under the table in my office. I have to go there.” And it's like quests: you need to find someone who can go there and take everything.
How the volunteer hub helps in Kharkiv: watch the video
And one more the quest was with yeast. My other mother runs a bakery at a convent in the city center. And I say: “You bake bread there. It costs a penny at its cost. Let's all find what is needed for bread, let them bake it – we'll take it.” She gave the number of a certain Nestor's father. Calling:
- “How much do you need,” he asks us.
- “1000 loaves,” we answer.
- “Okay, let's go. There is flour, no yeast.”
We somehow find the phone number of a yeast factory located in the area where the most shootings took place. I found the driver who went there. By the way, the plant gave us, I think, 100 kilograms for free, I don’t remember exactly – a very large amount of that yeast.
But it was not without problems – you need to get to the territory of the plant. There is no communication, the guards do not know who it came and why. Finally, that volunteer came in, took the yeast, brought it and baked bread for us.
We then sent people, they took everything and carried it to the stations.
And you have no idea what it was, how they brought bread in bags of such white ones. When people got it, they just broke it and stood sniffing it. Well, this it was just… Not enough words.
The war, apparently, has changed the values, priorities and concept of what is important for all Ukrainians.
Undoubtedly. My friend Major was somewhere at zero for 3 months, now he has moved to Lvov and here, in fact, he teaches paratroopers how to fight. And so he told how he had lived in the trenches for about 2 months, something “arrived” there, and these are everyday problems – you can’t even wash yourself. And when he came to his friends, somewhere near Kharkov, the military took some position there, found a house and water. And he says: “Change, wash, shave – it's something like that, wow …” Such simple things become extremely important.
I don't even know how to say it. Well, yes, this is a reassessment of reality.
Consequences of the “Russian world” in Kharkov / Photo from Orlova's Instagram .help
“We didn't feel safe”: about the evacuation to Lviv
Now you are settling in Lviv. Did you know at first that you would settle in this city?
To be honest, most people stopped in Lviv because it is close to the border. If it were not for this and some moments and opportunities with the departure, I think people would have run away further. It's out of fear, it's natural. You just run away from it and stop when you feel even a little safe.
Even in Lvov, at first we did not feel that we were safe. My uncle, who came to the station to pick us up, was very calm. And we're like, “Okay, let's go after him.” And they themselves looked around so that nothing would happen .
And the first night in Lvov, I remember, something buzzed loudly on the street. I thought it was a tank, honestly. I raised the Roman blinds in the room, otherwise it's just “Penny”. The car was started, and it was without a silencer (laughs) .
Evacuation to another city is an emotionally very difficult decision. Did your relatives, in particular your uncle, help you settle in Lviv?
In general, I have 11 relatives in Lviv, as it turned out (smiles). A month before the war, I met my brother. He called and said: “Hi, Zhenya, I'm your second cousin, I want to meet you. Come visit when you have free time.” My girlfriend and I were in Lviv, literally on February 6, but we couldn't meet him, he was working at that time. But we met a little later, under different circumstances.
Evgeny and his brother are delivering humanitarian aid/Photo by Evgeny Vlasyuk
I first saw my relatives in Lvov, and they already had a photo of our family from Zhytomyr, Zaporozhye and Kharkov at home.
Evgeny with his family/Photo by Evgeny Vlasyuk
em>
Such a reunion family during time war is very touching .
Yes (smiles).This is probably very important, because there was someone to rely on. First, psychologically, they had a calmer psyche. Well, we already had it like that, lit, that is, you are restless for sure. On the other hand, they didn't hear anything. At that time, there weren’t even such air raid alerts in Lviv, then they already appeared.
When the first rockets flew into the city, then I already saw this panic, fear, not understanding what to do, maybe go from Ukraine. And you already perceive it differently.
I remember I was going with a friend, there was an air raid alert, something banged there. But we're moving on. I see people running down the street. I understand it's terrible. We have already parked the car, we are going to the apartment, and some couple asks: “Do you have the keys to the parking?” And we are like: “No, but everything is fine, it's air raids, explosions. We're used to it, we're from Kharkov.”
“First” is cool”: about opening your own bistro in Lviv
Even far from home, Yevgeny Vlasyuk, together with friends Mikhail, Vladislav and Alexei, decided to open his own business during the war. Already after 2 months of work bistro “First” joyfully welcomed visitors. The atmosphere, the inscriptions that the settlers from this city will understand, as well as special dishes on the menu – everyone will be able to make sure that this is really a small Kharkiv in Lviv.
You managed to create a special bistro in near the center of Lviv. How did you decide to open an institution in a completely unfamiliar city? And what was the most difficult?
In fact, at this time, the worldview changes when you leave everything that you have and go somewhere. This phrase “going somewhere” – very accurately describes everything. Such is the uncertainty.
In general it was easy. First, we found a room where there was already ventilation, the kitchen was installed. I mean leads, electricity, etc. Once we managed so well that we found something else, both. And then the chef. This is Ruslan, who was an assistant chef in a very cool Kharkov institution. And we like this restaurant, especially the food, because it is delicious there. Next, we co-created the menu based on our own preferences.
Apparently, we didn't just think about failure. You know, when you don't know (you don't do market analysis – 24 channels), then everything works out. We knew there was coffee in Lviv, but we have the best coffee. Let's be honest here. We have our own roast, also from Kharkov, but now they roast it in Ivano-Frankivsk.
We even have music in the institution – three genres that play with frequency: something Misha, something Vlad, something mine, everything is mixed up. This is unusual.
That's why we came up with the name. “First” is cool. For how bad it will be, then this is the First (laughs) . Delicious food, tasty, coffee, nice atmosphere. And also – this is the first institution in Lviv, the first in life.
And in general, everything went somehow easily. We are four independent people, and each contributes something of his own. Probably the most difficult thing was to learn how to work in threes, as one person. It's more about trust.
There are three of us in the bistro, we make the concept and do all the work. But in general, we have another partner who has a stake in the business. His contribution is financial. He gave the money when we realized that we didn't have enough of our own. He supported us and took part. This is a man doing other things, he is now in Ivano-Frankivsk.
Kharkiv residents who opened the bistro “First”/Photo Rudnev Mikhail
And frankly, I would not say that there are any owners here. It's just a Kharkov project. We run here as waiters from time to time, or we clean something, my (laughs).
Bistro “First” is already quite popular in Lviv. Do you feel support from visitors, in particular, from Lviv?
Yes, and very strong from Lviv. To some extent, even more than from Kharkiv. After all, Kharkiv residents come here like home. But Lviv residents are not something you do not expect, rather you understand that this is another institution in Lviv. And there are many of them.
Plus, we're not local. Maybe we interfere with our Kharkov vibe. Therefore, we approach everything very carefully. Because we want to be loved.
Therefore, I want to thank the people of Lviv. When we arrived here, our landlord Miroslav, he is very loyal, tolerant, very supportive. He always communicates with us, gives advice. I don't know if we can talk about former tenants, but they also help us. Come to us.
Also, something from the legislative side is meeting somewhere. I mean TSNAP. Therefore, in general, such a powerful support is felt at every stage. Even the neighbors, with whom we are a little misunderstood, generally support us. And this is important.
Lvivians are frequent guests in the “First”/Photo Rudnev Mikhail
We arrived in a different space, there is still a difference in worldview. And when you create something from scratch, although we already had experience in the business, it is very easy to break down. You don't have anything behind you. This support really helps a lot, because you understand that the environment is suitable. It's easy for you. Relatively.
And I don't know what our secret is – experience, environment, or everything came together.
” Nobody knows how it will be”: about plans after the victory
I really want the war to end and everyone could return to their homes again, feel the atmosphere at home. Have you thought about what to do first after winning?
(Sighs) I guess we'll breathe a little. I don't know, no one must know.
A concentration camp survivor said: “First, those who did not believe in victory died. Then those who believed in it. And the survivors, those who were engaged in routine, just lived, minding their own business.” Well, these are not those day cases, because these are concentration camps. Maybe some kind of exercise, maybe some kind of work was given to them. But those who did something every day survived.
This is how we do it. And then some result. And you don't think for very long, because no one knows how it will be.
“Don't hesitate: it's better to leave!”: advice to Ukrainians in hot spots
Now thousands of people remain in hot spots. And most of them are simply afraid of evacuation. From the reports of journalists one can only hear: “Where to go? Who needs us there? But what about the house?” As a migrant who took a risk and managed to build a successful business in another city, what would you advise?
Leave, in any case, leave as soon as possible.
I will say from what my friends from the Armed Forces told me. They unanimously say: “Leave the city, because you are in our way. Because we cannot open fire on the house where the civilians are sitting, and behind it is the enemy.”
And secondly, you don't know who is an enemy and who is a civilian. And you still need to check the locals to distinguish where the enemy is and where the Ukrainian is. Therefore, civilians suffer under these conditions.
Don't hesitate: it's better to leave!
Ruined streets in Kharkiv/Instagram photo Orlova.help
First what I started to do when I arrived in Lviv was to call everyone and tell them to leave. It was a little calmer in Lviv, there were no such “arrivals”, the planes did not fly overhead. We called everyone and said: “Get out of there , leave”. Who heard this.
I have cooks who used to work on Saltovka, where it is very close to the district, something arrives every day. So get out of there! I have a car there, I say: “Put it away, the keys are inside, the documents are not there, but we will shoot a video, there is gasoline in the tank.”
And it so happened that some people left Kharkiv in my car. And they gave their car, which was old (they were afraid that they would not reach it), to volunteer.
Each Ukrainian experiences the war in his own way, because these are far from the conditions under which our emotional state can be in balance. However, the story Evgeny Vlasyuk is a vivid example of how not to give up due to a change of residence and create your own business, live in the moment, here and now, without fear of failure.
Ukraine, as never before, united and united, each of us, as a part of a large mechanism, contributes his share to the common victory. And whether it will be volunteering, or a donation for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, or maybe support for migrants who have opened their own business, or creating their own business – the choice is up to each of us!
