HK-based Ukrainian eatery turns into online info centre for locals looking to donate to Ukraine

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has spurred many Hongkongers to donate money to help the country. Many of them tried to contact Ukrainian restaurant "Ivan The Kozak" for more information on how to help and this has prompted the restaurant to venture online to teach citizens what they can do. 

On its Facebook page, Ivan The Kozak suggested that interested Hongkongers can donate money to a bank account set up by the Ukrainian government as the money will be used to support the country's army. However, the post added that the site is unstable from time to time as it has been attacked by Russian hackers. The post concluded, "The war will not end too soon but Ukraine will persist until the end. Glory to Ukraine!"

In addition to teaching Hongkongers about what they can do, the restaurants has been sharing news about the war to keep the audience informed, including speeches from Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to a report from Reuters, one customer handed over a tip of over HK$10,000 (US$1,280) and asked the restaurant to wire the money to those in need. The report also said that the Ukrainian Society of Hong Kong, an independent network for the Ukrainian community in the city which also helps facilitate donations, estimates that most people donate HK$1,000 to HK$3,000.

Meanwhile, a report from on.cc said Hong Kong's immigration department has been contact Hongkongers staying at Ukraine. After learning from the media that a Hong Kong citizen was staying in the country, the immigration department proactively reached out to the media and asked for lineup in order to provide the latest information about the chartered flight leaving Ukraine and other issues.

Russia began invading Ukraine in late February as Russia president Vladimir Putin claimed this was a "special military operation" meant to "demilitarise and denazify Ukraine. Since the invasion, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been trying to garner support from world leaders while the country's vice PM and minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, has been actively calling on renowned companies on Twitter to restrict their services in Russia. These included Viber, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Netflix, Apple, Tesla, as well as major crypto exchanges.

Airbnb.org said yesterday that it will offer free, short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine. These stays will be funded by Airbnb, Inc., donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund, and the generosity of Hosts through Airbnb.org. While Airbnb.org is committing to facilitate short-term housing for up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine, it will work closely with governments to best support the specific needs in each country, including by providing longer-term stays.

IKEA is also suspending its operations in Russia and Belarus, impacting about 15,000 employees, 17 stores, and three production sites. According to Channel NewsAsia, IKEA said the war has already had a huge human impact and it also leading to “serious disruptions to supply chain and trading conditions”.

Twitter has blocked access to its services in Russia and paused ads in Ukraine and Russia to ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don't detract from it. According to Twitter, it is aware that the platform is being restricted for some people in Russia and is working to keep its service safe and accessible.

(Photo courtesy: Ivan the Kozak)

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