TOUR: Your home country has been at war for almost two years - what has this time meant for you personally?
Yaroslav PopovychThe first year was really difficult mentally and also the work with aid deliveries. I have a lot of friends who took part. My team allowed me to spend two months just looking after aid for Ukraine. I brought the stuff to the border myself: clothes, food and medicine. I saw the people at the border fleeing with their small children. They didn't know where to go. It was worse and worse every time. Mentally, it was very difficult to lead a normal life here.
TOUR: But in 2023 you were working for Lidl-Trek again as normal?
Yaroslav PopovychYes, but I have helped many people in Europe to find what they need: like last year when the Russians attacked the entire electricity infrastructure and generators were urgently needed. We bought an ambulance here in Pistoia, which I took to Ukraine. But we only got as far as Austria because the gearbox was broken. We had to find a new one first - there was always something to do.
TOUR: Are you doing this through an aid organisation?
Yaroslav PopovychI do this with friends who have contacts and help somehow. I meet my father at the border, he's old and is allowed to leave the country. He takes over the deliveries and I drive back to Italy.
TOUR: Where does the money come from?
Yaroslav PopovychPeople in Ukraine collect this and it also comes from me and friends. In the beginning, my team gave me 30,000 euros. My colleagues give me donations and also some Ukrainian footballers who play here in Italy.
Parents are still in Ukraine
TOUR: You come from the west of Ukraine, where it is relatively safe. Your mother and father are still in the region?
Yaroslav PopovychYes, they live in a small village near the Polish border, so nothing ever happened.
TOUR: What about your friends in Ukraine?
Yaroslav PopovychI have a mate who is fighting on the front line in the first line and the second works in a military hospital, far away from the front. They say yes, we can fight, but without weapons, without armour, without nothing, we can't fight. My friends always tell me it's not like they show it on TV. The reality is much more difficult - many people are dying. My sister's husband works as a volunteer. He brings new cars to the front and picks up the broken ones. He says it's one big disaster like in a dark film scenario.
TOUR: Do you understand that many in Europe no longer want to think about Russia's war?
Yaroslav PopovychWar is happening all over the world, but if you're not connected to it, you don't think about it. A month ago there were floods in Tuscany and my friends lost a lot of things. Now we've spent three weeks helping to repair the damage. It's always the case that when you're close to someone, you can understand what they're thinking. But if it doesn't touch you, you'll just say it's bad, but after a few moments it's forgotten and over. It's the same even in Ukraine. Sometimes, when I feel mentally bad, I try to stop reading the news. But still, after a day or two, you start calling home again. Because this is your country, this is your mum, everything. I've lived in Italy for 23 of my 43 years. This is the biggest part of my life, but in my heart, in my head, everywhere I am Ukrainian.
TOUR: Is it difficult to continue working against this background?
Yaroslav PopovychWhen I'm working, I switch everything off. You always concentrate on the race to solve the same problems, to work through issues - that helped me a lot. When this war against Ukraine started, I was only occupied with the war for two months. I pushed a lot of things and thought a lot. But after two months I realised that my body couldn't take it. So I said to myself: now is the time to come back and switch off. You can't help everyone. I have to get back to my pleasure, back to cycling.
TOUR: And do you still cycle?
Yaroslav PopovychSometimes, but only for pleasure. During the Tour de France, I rode every day and in the afternoon after the race. In some races we have a lot of stuff, a lot of sports directors and so you can be alone for an hour or two and also take the pressure off. I rode like a madman and sat on the bike, riding flat out. But when I came back, I was really free mentally and physically. It's amazing how exhausting just travelling by car in the caravan at bike races is. You always have to be careful and watch out for the drivers, the bikes, traffic islands, people and everything else. You have to be like a robot to control everything so as not to make any mistakes.
TOUR: Do you have a work plan for 2024 with Lidl-Trek?
Yaroslav PopovychWe've been working on the programme for next year for a month and a half now. I will be doing the Giro and the Tour de France. The Tour starts in Tuscany, where I live, so it's a pleasure to be there.
TOUR: What is the best way for people to help Ukraine?
Yaroslav PopovychWe need to talk and discuss. The most important thing now is political support. Ordinary people can do small things, like us: we have collected about 5000 euros for the ambulance, we need clothes. Two days ago I received a request for military clothing or batteries. That's for friends of friends and it's really important. But it's mainly about political support, in terms of weapons, money and the reconstruction of the country. It's a long process, but I'm sure it will happen.
Popovych has no official organisation. Links to aid projects:
- Libereco: Help for traumatised children
https://www.libereco.org/kinderzentren-charkiw-und-dnipro/ - Munich helps Ukraine e.V.: Help for the elderly, children, hospitals
https://www.muenchen-hilft-ukraine.de/ - United24: The country's official donation portal
https://u24.gov.ua/
Kristian Bauer
Editor
