War Diary, Part 1

The war defines who you actually are - you get to know people around you better. Much better. The ones I’m working with inspired me; they made me believe that our victory isn’t a dream but the only way. There were so many inspiring stories to hear and remember.

Together with Maryna Solianyk , Oleh Kryval , Marta Synelnyk , we started thinking about that above-mentioned “remember” and just came up with publishing the War Diary digest. The one about heroes of our time — TXians.

They’d been working by the window with a rifle to meet “guests,” actively looking for the stuff needed on the front line, contacting their relatives who stayed on the occupied territories… They’d made drastic decisions to leave their homes and start everything from scratch abroad. They wanted their kids to feel safe.

These stories were meant to support, share the pain or encourage. And I can’t describe how grateful I am to my team and colleagues for contributing to this project — I consider it a mission.

This war is devastating and cruel. It’s still here, killing Ukrainians. But we stay strong and dedicated. Every. Single. Day.

Here are TXians’ stories about relocation and living abroad.

Jenya Shevchenko

QA Lead

Kharkiv — Odesa — Lviv — Truskavets — Lviv — Cracow — New York

What expectations did you have from moving abroad?

Since I have a daughter with special needs (ASD + ADHD), I desperately needed to take her to the place where she could have therapy sessions, so, when the war began, we decided to leave immediately. Another important thing I had to deal with was to get from the east to the west of Ukraine safely.

Were you afraid of moving abroad?

It would be way scarier to stay in a basement and hear these sounds of war. We were afraid that something could hit our train while we were leaving the city. The thing that supported us a lot was having a place to stay in Truskavets. Thanks a lot to our TX team for such an opportunity. My elderly mom needed to have some rest before crossing the border.

How can you describe the attitude of foreigners?

Talking about the attitude toward us in Poland, everything was just perfect. One day, while having our dinner, a local man just paid for it when he heard us speaking Ukrainian. And the restaurant owner where we used to have our breakfast treated my daughter to homemade pastries. Thanks a lot to the Polish people for being so nice. Things in America are good too: we found a school for my kid, and everyone is very friendly there. She has become a member of their school family from the first day and has everything she needs for studying — a personal tutor, stationery and food. Yesterday, the teachers gifted her two bags of toys, a backpack and a water bottle… We really needed it as I've spent a lot of money on a flight and family/army needs. My relatives help me a lot here; I'm grateful to them. I understand that it's not easy to live with a kid with special needs. She's very active and needs everything she can reach out to. If she can't — well, a chair is always somewhere in a room.

Anna Furdylo

Recruitment Manager

Lviv — Przemysl — Lodz — Warsaw — Lodz

How can you describe the attitude of border guards?

It took us 16 hours to reach our destination when we decided to leave Ukraine by train. That was the second day of the war. Border control took many hours because of the large number of people that had to be registered. My friends met us in Poland; Everything was perfectly organized at the train station, so people could have some rest, eat and charge their phones.

Are you satisfied with the living conditions?

A lot of locals want to help Ukrainians in Poland. It's priceless! I've decided not to register as a refugee who can apply for social benefits since I can support my family financially. I think there are many people who need that kind of support a lot more.

Are you planning to come back home?

Of course. Everything I have in my life is in Ukraine.

Alina Derenska

QA Engineer

Kharkiv — Krasnohrad — Dnipro — overnight stay by the roadside near Uman — Khmelnytskyi — Frankivsk — Humenne (Slovakia) — Ljubljana (Slovenia) — village near the highway (Italy) — Barcelona — Valencia — Alicante — Guardamar del Segura

How long did it take to make the decision to move abroad?

I made this decision on February 17. I found an apartment in Ivano-Frankivsk and offered my relatives to move there, but they refused. Everyone decided to leave home only when missiles started flying above our heads. At that moment, I was afraid to leave too, and all of us just stayed at home waiting for the right moment to leave.

How can you describe the attitude of foreigners?

Spaniards pretend to be sympathetic, criticize putin, and then they can easily charge you €15 per day for having a cat in a rented apartment. Talking about Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking citizens who have lived there for a long time, I can say that they’re trying to help by giving some helpful tips or providing us with meal kits.

Are you planning to come back home?

If my house isn't destroyed, I'll come back. Only after the beginning of the war and experiencing a refugee's reality I could realize how wonderful it was to live in our Ukraine with such a decent living standard. Everything will be Ukraine! Thanks a lot????

Oleg Vasilyev

.NET Developer

Driving 3600 km through the enemy's territory in the direction of Poland. It's even hard to read… At first, Oleh had to work in occupied territory as his wife couldn't leave her sick mother. But due to the serious problems with the Internet, he decided to leave home to continue working and support his family financially.?

Oleh spent five days behind the wheel trying to ignore those horrible symbols of the war that appeared in Crimea and russia at every turn. Here is the quote: “Those letters (Z, V) were everywhere — on monuments, cars, gas stations and even cups. It was challenging.” He had to drive 600-1000 km, making stops and hiding a car in the garage for safety reasons — reliable people helped him with it. After the interrogation by FSB in Crimea, KGB in Belarus and all that tension, Oleh managed to get to Poland and stayed in his friend’s apartment.?

Later, he returned to Ukraine (Lutsk) and is looking forward to meeting his family. They'll have to overcome difficulties that might be encountered on their way. We hope for the best.