During the last month, our teammates had to travel thousands of kilometers, seeking shelter in safer places. They learned how to work under the sounds of salvo and settled into our development centers. “Are you safe?” has become an initial question in every conversation. But no matter what, we managed to come back to work and more or less habitual routine.

In this issue, we interviewed our colleagues to determine what helps them stay strong and how hard it is to leave home and run away from shelling, having no final destination. Besides, we asked the newcomers who joined the company just before a full-scale war to share their feelings.

Artem Serheiev, Software Development Engineer

In 2014, my family had to leave Luhansk. After my neighbors’ house was destroyed by shelling and the debris fell on our house, my parents took a decision to leave. At that moment, they were at home, but fortunately, they had time to rush into a cellar.

That’s how we moved to Kharkiv 8 years ago. This time, we had to leave again as heavy artillery attacks happened near apartment buildings close to ours. I’d say we were lucky, and it’s a miracle that our apartment wasn’t damaged while explosions rang out almost in all residential quarters of Kharkiv.

We left the city by train. When we headed to the railway station, a driver told us that he had already come under fire, but our trip was safe. We didn’t plan our route, and what’s more, we didn’t know where we were going. We just took the first available train heading to western Ukraine. We went almost the whole day without heating in the car. Still, when reading the news and monitoring the overall situation in other cities, I always come to the conclusion that we were extremely fortunate.

So, I came to Lviv. For the first time, I lived in our development center and simultaneously searched for accommodation. I am so grateful to my teammates for their help. Rostyslav Skoroplas invited me to stay in Chernivtsi if I were there. And the girls from the Lviv team — Olha Skalentska, Ella Hudym, and Yulia Hordienko — did their best so that I could settle down comfortably and helped me find housing.

Indeed, I feel safer here compared to Kharkiv. But it’s not the time to relax. Recently, I saw the impact of a missile attack on Lviv right from the window of my apartment. There was so much smoke, and firefighters put out the fire for more than 10 hours.

Currently, my workplace is a kitchen table in a rented apartment. In general, I managed to arrange a typical working day and follow almost the same rhythm as it was on the eve of the russian invasion. I work, transfer funds to the Military Forces of Ukraine, and help sort humanitarian supplies for people in need in other regions on weekends.

Vitalii Virchenko, Quality Assurance Engineer

For sure, it was a hard decision to leave Sumy. Up to the last minute, we hoped that we could wait it out at home. We had everything needed. However, after an air raid on the night of March 8, which destroyed 3 houses and killed 22 people, it became evident that we had false hopes. The enemy’s intentions to occupy Sumy were quite strong.

That was a turning point, after which we were ready to leave the city and just waited for the possibility to evacuate. Fortunately, on March 9, the government announced a green corridor for evacuation.

While leaving the city, I didn’t know our final destination. The main goal was to venture beyond the city limits as soon as possible. Partially, we went along the route of a green corridor, but when we left the city outskirts, we switched to the route the AMC Bridge team developed for us and shared on the Telegram channel, where we also found an address of a shelter for a night. Then we decided to continue moving to western Ukraine. Considering the difficulties of traveling with children of 5 and 7 years old and a puppy of 2,5 years old, we failed to go far away. We stopped for a night in a roadside motel outside Cherkasy. The next morning we’ve joined the convoy of our colleagues’ cars and went to the Khmelnytsky development center with them.

In Khmelnytsky, we’ve searched for long-term accommodation for two weeks. Besides, we had some troubles because of the negative attitude of some landlords towards families with animals. Like everyone who tries to rent an apartment now, we’ve also gained some experience communicating with housing frauds. All in all, we were lucky to book a hotel room, which is 40 km from Khmelnytsky.

With a roof over our heads, life has become a little bit easier to some extent. Unfortunately, no one can feel absolutely safe in Ukraine now, but it’s obviously safer here. Generally speaking, we have satisfactory conditions for living. Though my temporary workplace is a kitchen table and only mobile Internet is available here, I continue working. But the most important thing for me now is that my wife and my children are by my side, and I can worry less about them. Besides, it’s crucial that I have the possibility to work and receive a salary. In such a way, I can donate money to volunteers and support relatives at this difficult time.

Vitalii Hrebenozhko, Systems Engineer

Before pandemic times, I worked as a system engineer in Chernivtsi. I like our development center there and adore local coffee. Because of COVID-19, when we switched to the work-from-home mode, and it wasn’t necessary to visit the office regularly, I moved to the capital to my girlfriend.

At the moment of a full-scale invasion, I lived nearby airport Zhuliany. Thus, on February 24, I was getting out of the city under the sounds of explosions. I was heading towards a safe place in the Ternopil region where I was born.

During all this time, I was worried so much about our teammates from Sumy. So, I was delighted to find out that my team leader Yurii Zaika succeeded in evacuating with his family, though they were on the road for several days. And when I heard that Yevhen Humanichenko, my teammate, had reached Chernivtsi, I couldn’t resist but went there; it was around 90 km from my place. I really wanted to work from the office for at least one day and drink coffee with people whom I previously saw only on a monitor. I plan to do it my little tradition to see my colleagues more often.

Currently, my workplace is not as cozy as it used to be. I left Kyiv in a hurry, so only the most necessary things were grasped. Thus, I have no second monitor right now. But it’s no big deal. What’s more important is that the work helps distract from distressing news and keeps the energy up.

Maksym Shypik, Software Development Engineer

I didn’t even have a thought of leaving Sumy. The overall situation in the city is not that bad, especially in comparison with other cities such as Kharkiv, Okhtyrka, and Mariupol. Currently, the situation in Sumy is stable. All enemy troops are warded off from the city, and it’s almost a week since we don’t hear any explosions. However, the threat of air raids is still realistic.

Overall, my workplace remains the same except for the time of air sirens when I have to get away from the windows. Anyway, I feel good. My depressive thoughts progressed only during the first days when the war has started. And then, I realized that my working day didn’t change a lot, and I felt better.

Kateryna Sloboda, Software Development Engineer

I joined AMC Bridge on February 21. Even then, I was impressed by the humanity of the teammates I communicated with. It gave me a feeling of encouragement during my first days at the company and on the days when the war started. I always feel the tremendous support of the team as well as the management during Town Halls. Every teammate asks whether I am safe and whether everything is OK. It really means a lot to me, especially when you are a newbie and still figuring out how everything works.

During the first days of the war, my working day slightly changed. Because of a curfew, I had to stand in lengthy lines at pharmacies and other shops till noon, so I used to work longer in the evenings. Now the situation has stabilized. There is everything needed in supermarkets. Kyiv comes back to life after a long pause. Every day there are more and more people and cars on the streets. Psychologically, it makes me feel better, and I can plan my working day according to the usual schedule.

My workplace didn’t change. I have a large table near the window — probably it’s not safe, but it was decided to leave it as is — which I share with my boyfriend. Both of us are developers. Thus, it seems like working from the same office.

Communication with my close ones is the main thing that helps me cope with everything. Moreover, everyday interactions with my teammates and tasks that should be done on time distract me from bad thoughts. I couldn’t even imagine that coding would calm me down in such a stressful situation. And it really works! Oh, yes, and I drink tea with mint non-stop.