1. When Russia invaded Ukraine, you could have gone to Italy but chose to stay. Why?

Even though I am Italian from Milan, I feel like a citizen of Odessa and not a foreign tourist. When the war broke out, I decided to stay for three reasons: 1) my Ukrainian friends, workers, and my love would never leave. I could not abandon them. 2) I chose to establish and start up a new business in this amazing city. Leaving would have meant ruining my projects. 3) I founded one of the main English-language online newspapers in Ukraine outside of Kyiv. I understood that my duty was to inform my international readers about the war. For this task, I needed to live inside the war theatre.

2. What is editorial work like now under war conditions? What is the most severe difficulty?

The Odessa Journal was born to deal with culture, history, and social and business life in Odessa. On the first day of the Russian invasion, my team and I decided to cover the war events. We have worked restlessly, sometimes overnight, but our readers increased significantly, which proves that it was the right decision. Unfortunately, we lost almost all our income from advertising, but some generous readers started to support us with their donations on our Patreon page.

3. Are there many foreign workers left in Ukraine?

Most foreigners have left. All the subsidiaries of foreign groups closed their offices or transferred their staff to safer places beyond the border. 

4. Are Ukrainian companies able to function in any capacity now?

Some Ukrainian companies are fully functioning. The Government offered generous bonuses and fiscal discounts to the employers who are paying salaries.

5. How do you assess the state of Ukrainian businesses and the economy? How many years will it take to rebuild?

I come from Italy, a country that was largely destroyed during World War II. The reconstruction was an opportunity to create a modern and better country. Italians use to call those two decades after the war the “economic miracle.” The Ukrainian leadership and people seem motivated to repeat that miracle for their economy. This is the future perspective for Ukraine.