We arrived in Mykolaiv early morning. Such a great feeling to bring the train back to town first time since the beginning of the war.
My brother @chefjoseandres was already waiting for us at the station. He made a long way from US to Mykolaiv only because he promised to be here once #Kherson is free. He brought his @WCKitchen team and few trucks of food with him. And few cigars. He’s got a style.
We also brought a team of doctors from @MSF_Ukraine. And they brought some medicines, prepared in advance - they know what people usually need in such cases.
Food and medicals are the first needs in retaken territories, we know that well. So, hand in hand with our partners from @WCKitchen and @MSF_Ukraine we headed to #Kherson. 18 cars altogether in a guarded caravan.
Had a stopover to check the progress of track repair works. Roman is our infra guy. He doesn’t like to take photos, prefers just doing his work. #IronPeople old-school style.
When Jose noticed I was squinting at the sun, he gave me his glasses. He’s always noticing tiny details and caring about people around him. Still don’t grasp how he does so many things at a time. He says that’s because he loves me.
In #Kherson we met the Governor of #Kherson oblast on the railway station. He’s got much to do there. But we helped him a little bit, making a humanitarian hub at the railway station.
Had a 4 minutes kickoff meeting with my team. Standing makes meetings shorter. Hate long meetings. In our #IronTeam everyone knows what to do.
We brought generators and #Starlinks on the second day of liberation. So mobile charging and Wi-Fi was already there. #Starlinks we have thanks to our Ministers @OlKubrakov and @FedorovMykhailo. And @elonmusk too I guess.
People cried when called their relatives for the first time in a while.
One man came to shave at the station, right next to youngsters charging their mobiles. And it’s fine. We give people the opportunity to do whatever they need. A piece of normalcy.
Meanwhile, @WCKitchen started doing what they do the best - distributing food right at the railway station. 3500 food packages done that day. That was the first large scale food distribution since liberation. It was incredible.
And @MSF_Ukraine started appointments with patients, right at the railway station. More than 120 appointments that day. It was heartbreaking to watch people in that queue. #russians stolen all ambulances while fleeing. But finally people of #Kherson got medical aid.
One young family left the station calmed and happy after visiting doctors from @MSF_Ukraine and getting free medicines. She’s pregnant, 9th month. I offered them to call their soon to be born daughter Victoria, and they agreed. Victoria stands for #Victory.
At some point I saw that our station works well - power for mobile charging, Starlinks for Wi-Fi, food distributed by @WCKitchen, patients treated by @MSF_Ukraine. Then head of our regional branch Sergei put the flag on the right place. #KhersonisUkraine.
Then my friend @SebLindstrom, who’s making a documentary about @WCKitchen, called me to help him unloading the food truck. I love this shift sometimes when you switch your brain off and keep doing some easy job.
btw, here goes a good illustration of the difference between the #SupervisoryBoard (the guy on the left, @Leshchenkos, giving a motivating speech) and the #ManagementBoard (the guy on the right, looks like me, doing the job).
P.S. joking. Sergei was working equal to others.
Met the same kitty from my previous visit. He asked about you again, @natemook. Don’t know what to tell him this time. Don’t make me hide from him next time. Come to #Kherson to feed and hug all cats here. I know that’s your secret plan.
When I heard one lady whispering that one guy is paying out pensions, I knew it’s my friend @smelyansky_igor. And I knew where to find him - central office of @ukrposhta - that’s always on the city central square. Igor is awesome.
When we got back to Mykolaiv, Jose showed me his #foodtrack. It can make 15k+ hot meals a day. That’s incredible. Actually that’s where I reminded that I haven’t had any food since the morning. Jose gave me a regular meal. How tasty it was!
We also agreed with Jose to make the competition of #borshch of Ukraine. This one was delicious.
Finally we got back on train heading to Kyiv. The Governor of #Mykolaiv oblast @vitalij_kim came to give us a hug before train departure.
Another long but happy day where we’ve done our best to help people of #Kherson and #Mykolaiv get back to normalcy asap. Never possible without our friends from @WCKitchen and @MSF_Ukraine. Real #IronBrotherhood. Will remember what you do for my country forever in my life.
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