Ukrainian partner about the importance of keep doing business with a country under attack

Almost a year has passed since Russia decided to invade Ukraine, and no words can describe what the Ukrainian people have gone through since. Last week, CEJN was pleased to welcome Dima Demchenko from BMU, a Ukrainian partner to CEJN for many, many years. He shared his thoughts about the current situation in Ukraine, how important it is to keep doing business with a country that is under attack, and how the economic support from CEJN enabled the BMU staff to stay at their jobs.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has left no one untouched. CEJN was honored to welcome Dima Demchenko from BMU, a Ukrainian partner to CEJN for many years, to the CEJN head office last week. During his stay, we got the opportunity to hear his thoughts about the situation in Ukraine and how it is to live and run a business in a country that is under attack.

Big economic losses

At the beginning of the war, BMU faced severe economic losses, and employees were anxious about losing their jobs. “The staff was very stressed about the uncertainties of not knowing whether they would be able to keep their jobs and income or not,” Dima says and continues. “Thanks to the economic support from CEJN, the BMU employees didn’t have to worry about that anymore.”

During the year the war has been ongoing, many civilians, countries, organizations, and companies have tried to help Ukraine the best way possible, from financial support, sanctions, and open borders to rescue material and weapons, etc. CEJN decided to compensate BMU for their economic losses, enabling the employees to stay at their jobs. “That partners and companies like CEJN continue to do business with us in uncertain times has truly kept the business going,” Dima points out, highlighting how important it is that European businesses continue to believe in Ukraine.

After big economic losses, CEJN compensated BMU so that all the employees could remain at their jobs.

Believes in victory

Close to one year after the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian people’s fighting spirit and standing up for their country are admirable. “Russia thought that they could take over Ukraine in a matter of days,” he says and continues. “Their first mistake was trying to split the Ukrainian people, instead the people of Ukraine got together stronger than ever before.”

“We believe in victory and that we will win, no doubts,” Dima says. He adds that the Ukrainian people are facing lots of challenges, of course, but that no challenge is too big not to be solved. “The biggest problem right now is the electricity,” he says. “But we are ready to live without electricity, to live without gas, but we are not willing to live with Russians,” he concludes.