I Chose Ukraine

Yuliya Savostina is well-known in Ukraine as the  founder of the Made in Ukraine project, which set a trend for  buying quality Ukrainian-made products—from clothing,  cosmetics, interior items, and artisanal foods to travel  experiences around Ukraine. Over 11 years, this initiative  has spurred the launch of countless new Ukrainian  businesses, growing into an ecosystem for developing  modern Ukrainian products. One of its key offshoots is  Svidomo Made, uniting over 150 businesses around  responsible production and consumption.

"I lost everything in a single day," Yuliya recalls about the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She  could have moved to Italy, where she had bought an apartment in a picturesque town near Portofino before the  pandemic. Instead, she chose to stay in Ukraine to support  the army and civilians and to continue developing "Made in  Ukraine" products. Over the past two and a half years, she  has experienced events worthy of a book. Here’s her story: In the early days of the full-scale war, friends from various  countries who had gathered aid for Ukrainians started calling  me, asking where to send it. Unexpectedly, I opened a  humanitarian warehouse based on my projects and started  coordinating truckloads of aid and managing logistics. A  single truck holds 20-40 tons, and we would receive 10-15  trucks daily from various parts of Europe.

Looking back, I can hardly believe the things we did back then. For example, in the winter, we used inflatable boats to  ferry food across a river into occupied areas of Kyiv and  Chernihiv regions. At times, to get bread to people under  occupation, we had to rely on poachers who knew the back roads.

At the same time, my team and I decided to bring a stand for the Ukrainian brand Ethnica to an international artisans fair  in Florence. A follower of mine from Lviv, whom I had never  met, accepted a €70,000 collection for this exhibition and  ensured it got to Florence. Even my four-year-old daughter  helped unpack the stand.

Meanwhile, my husband joined the army. Imagine being  engaged in unloading aid trucks, transporting cultural heritage abroad, constantly coordinating with artists and  customs officials, and then your husband calls to say, “It’s  getting warmer; start a fundraiser and buy us a refrigerated  truck for transporting bodies.” That was probably my point of  no return when I turned off my emotions and realized that I  had a job to do for victory. And yes, I bought that truck. One of my employees spent three weeks in a basement in  Bucha near Kyiv during the worst fighting. I won’t go into  how she managed to get out, but she called me and said,  “Do whatever you need to, but I’ll be back at work tomorrow.”  This marked our gradual return to the Kyiv office. We  relaunched the Lavka Traditsiy project supporting small  Ukrainian producers, a collaboration with a well-known  supermarket chain. On the tenth anniversary of Made in  Ukraine, we launched Etnika Home, a showroom for home  decor and furnishings made by Ukrainian artisans. Today, we  have two stores in large Kyiv malls, setting the standard for  reviving everyday traditions in a modern style.

Last year, I sometimes berated myself for not staying in Italy  after that exhibition in Florence. But I’ve come to realize that  it’s better for our family to be here. I chose Ukraine. To any foreigner, I would say: whatever you’ve read about  the war, you’ll never fully feel what we’re experiencing.  Unfortunately, war is something you only understand through  experience. You feel it when you organize an evacuation,  cover your child during a nighttime drone attack, wait for  news from your husband and brother in the Armed Forces, 

or hide your mother in Sumy, close to the Russian border,  amid explosions.

If we lose and Russia annexes us into their so-called Soviet  Union, the Baltic countries will be next in line for  "annexation." After that, possibly even Finland, despite these  nations already being part of NATO.