Living the story: Gennadiy Kot

Gennadiy Kot

BBC Monitoring’s output may give the impression that it is business as usual in our Kyiv office, with dozens of news products on Ukraine and its neighbouring countries delivered to our audiences every day. But what has life really been like for the team? Editorial lead Gennadiy Kot writes.

When I woke to the sound of distant explosions in Kyiv on the morning of 24 February last year, I realised life would never be the same again.

As a fledgling monitor in the late 1990s, I worried about translation, selection and the occasional failure to record a news bulletin on tape. Now, as a manager, I make sure the team operates smoothly and provides comprehensive coverage – but only after every team member is “accounted for” and is as safe as you can be in a country under attack.

When Russian tanks were closing in on Kyiv in February and March last year, the team had to be moved out of the city. The Russian atrocities in Bucha or Irpin had not yet come to light, but we knew nothing good would come from a Russian occupation.

Driving west

Frequent air sirens, explosions, rattling windowpanes and shaking doors made me decide to move my family. As we drove west for two days through endless roadblocks and traffic jams, we were unaware that if we had taken the main highway, we could have been shot at by Russian troops, who were targeting – and killing – civilians in their cars.

We have now learned to live with air raid sirens going off across the country, sometimes several times a day. We know where the nearest bomb shelter is – and the difference between the sounds of a missile hitting a target and of a missile being shot down by air defence. We have become experts on the inaccurate but lethal scrap metal used by Russia to bomb our cities and energy infrastructure.

Foreign Exchange bureau in Lviv replacing the rate for the Russian Rouble with “PTN PNKh” (Putin go to hell)

Gennadiy Kot.

Power outages

Thanks to the Kremlin, I’m now sure that in the past, we were taking electricity and the internet for granted. There is not much you can file during a power outage. Unless you prepare, of course.

When electricity goes, you can use an advanced power bank for your laptop and hope the mobile internet works on your phone. More often than not, you have to move to a different location with a generator and internet access to continue working. When there is no power, you also lose heating and hot water in many places.

Poster reads: “Ukraine is a country not a province!”

Gennadiy Kot.

Traffic sign reads: “Putin has lost, the world is with Ukraine”

Gennadiy Kot.

A blessing in disguise

While work has been a challenge, it has also been a relief. Running a dispersed team is tough, but remote working during the Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be a very useful exercise.

Our team has come really to appreciate the rare opportunities we get to meet in person – most of the team to be more exact – offered by training courses and other events. And overall, bringing useful information and insight to our users has been a blessing in disguise amid the stressful uncertainty of the war.

Gennadiy Kot is the editorial lead in our Kyiv office