The Voices for Voices TV Show and Podcast Episode 65 with Guest, Ukrainian Soldier Oleksii Chuiev
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Welcome to the Voices for Voices TV Show and Podcast sponsored by Redwood Living. Thank you for joining us today. I am Justin Alan Hayes, founder and executive director of Voices for Voices, host and humanitarian. You can learn more about Voices for Voices on our Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube channel at Voices for Voices or also on our website at voicesforvoices.org.
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In today's episode, we are absolutely thrilled and grateful to have our guest with us joining us from somewhere around Kyiv, Ukraine. And he's going to talk to us about his experience both on the business side and then transitioning over on the military side. And then what his department, his area is focusing on that once all areas of Ukraine are liberated, that there is still work to be done.
Infrastructure needs to be rebuilt, areas need to be de-mined, and our guest will speak more to that. But it was just really eye-opening to me as I was doing research for today's episode to learn about that whole holistic process that goes into what unfortunately is happening. And I just missed being able to talk with our guest in person. I spent six and a half days in Ukraine, but really thrilled that he's able to join us today.
So joining us from somewhere around Kiev, Ukraine, is Mr. Oleksii Chuiev. He is in the State Special Transport Service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. His education stems from the National Technical University of Ukraine, the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. He has a world of experience literally. He wants to be happy himself and one of his organizations, that's the goal. So I can see how the translation into the work he does really fits him. So Leksii, thank you for joining us.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
Thank you that you invite me. It's a honor for me to be one voice from Ukraine.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Absolutely. For our audience and for really anybody, if they're checking out the transcript, if they're listening to this episode, they're viewing it on TV, on YouTube across the world, what do you do in a high level sense?
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
Let me just explain who am I? Because I'm 46 years old. I'm a father. I have two daughters, seven and 10 years old and many, many years, maybe 20 years, I believe in two things and I'm passionate about this. One is happiness and I'm a promoter of the happiness in Ukraine. We organized International Day of Happiness many years to promote more happy Ukrainian people inside Ukraine. And my other passion is help companies to build trust and to build reputation.
I'm representative of Boston based consultancy name Reputation Institute. I work more than 20 years as a consultant and now as a teacher. I teach top managers to build trust inside organization. And if you asked me two years ago that one day I'll be a soldier, just soldier, even not officer, because I don't have experience in military. My experience is zero. I think that you are crazy.
But when the war start, I spent two weeks to secure my family in the west part of Ukraine. And after that I just go as a volunteer in army and first time when I took a weapon in my hands. But I understand that's my most experience in life, it's connections, it's communications between people. It's build trust in military organization and I start to organize communication inside our small union and after that biggest one. Six months later I go to Kyiv and visit our main commander of our organization because our organization's a huge military formation, more than 20,000 soldiers around whole Ukraine.
And now I help our both generals to build the vision of our organization and to build communication with our global partners from United States, from Canada to in three direction. One, it's de-mining of Ukraine at another, it's engineering of Ukraine in rebuilding of our military infrastructure and civilian infrastructures, so bridges, dams and so on.
That's why I'm just a senior soldier, but I put all my experience of my life in military, not just a soldier, like a communicator, a diplomat, a businessman, a consultant and it's really work. I believe that's why Ukraine wins this war right now and win the final win, the final battle. Because a lot of soldiers and officers have huge experience not in military, have a huge experience in life, in their mind, in their business. It's a flexible mind in help us to do something that's our enemy even not imagine how we can do it.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Thank you. Around de-mining itself, can you talk about the importance of that from, I guess the one perspective that, there's multiple perspectives but the one I'm thinking of is farming. And so there's crops that need to be planted, it takes time to cultivate, harvest them. Can you explain if there are mines built into those areas where individuals are trying to make a living to go back to a sense of normalcy? How important that is and what de-mining is for those that might not understand.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
It's not de-mining that's maybe in Afghanistan 30 years ago because the war in Ukraine is the world don't see this type of war many, many years. When we are talking about de-mining it's not just about mine that's our enemy put in the ground. It's about a lot of very different kind of weapons, bombs, rockets and so on. More than few hundreds types of different mines.
But de-mining, we have two type of de-mining. One it's de-mining in frontline and another is de-mining in dual occupied territories. Our military formation responsible for de-mining of the occupied territories. And our minister of defense focusing on this maybe just six months ago when we start to free our huge cities like Kharkiv, Kherson, and after that our commander decided to build huge military formation of de-miners.
For example, maybe six months ago we have few hundreds of the sappers and de-miners. Now we have an order to build thousands of sappers and de-miners and we have huge negotiations with international donors about specific mechanical machine for de-mining and some robots, some specific drones. It's a huge challenge for Ukraine for hundreds of years.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Thank you. As you were talking about your business experience, your communication, your diplomatic experience and how you're weaving that into the work that you continue to do. I think that's also important for maybe students to understand that. As being an instructor here in the States, one of the questions that gets posed to me is, "When I go to apply to a job, I'm just a student, I don't have the experience. I don't have this particular skill or that skill."
But what I try to convey to them is that they have a lot of those skills already, whether it's teamwork, giving presentations, they're transferable skills. That's why I think it's really helpful that the way you explained that the work that you've done in the past has really set you up to where you are today and that it's possible to-
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
Absolutely.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
... really take those skills and move in a different direction but still be true to kind of yourself and your mission as an individual.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
Absolutely. Absolutely. Because you don't have time, you don't have choice to make a decision. You just shoot. Remember what experience do you really have, how we can use it? And communication, it's maybe number one in time of war because how you communicate, it will help to save lives for you and for your friends, for your team. In the war, communication I think it's number one experience and skill.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Sure. What is life for you like today? I guess it's just something as a percentage of your time spent on military activity versus diplomatic and in interviews and those just to get a level of okay, what your day looks like.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
I'm so sorry, but now my day looks like not so perfect because three weeks ago I did operation in my leg and now I recovering in hospital.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Oh my gosh.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
No problem. It's not so huge problem. But now my day it's... Maybe I can tell a few words about my day two months ago.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Please.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
As I told you, I'm from one side, I'm a soldier, but from other side I have a huge communication with the generals, with colonels inside our organization. I'm responsible for communication with our international partners from Canada, from United States, from Great Britain. I have the job what I should do per day as a soldier, but it's usual. But more important, it's communications with different officers, with different levels of people.
It start early morning and it's finished maybe in midnight because the [inaudible 00:15:21] finished that's why I have a lot of communications. And most important communication between people, not between different institutions. Sorry, do you hear me?
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Yeah.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
Because I think-
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
It cut out a little bit, but I can hear you for the most part.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
But most important, that's my experience helped me don't see the borders inside our [inaudible 00:16:05], finance of Canada. I just a soldier and the minister of finance. You see with the huge difference. But my experience told me that I'm Ukrainian soldier and I need to find this woman. I need to organize meeting and to give a match for her about the de-mining. And I organize this meeting and I find the people who know her and who help me to organize this meeting personally that I strongly believe in personal trust between people.
If I know somebody who know minister of finance, I just have to shake hands to organize meeting with this person. Because as I told you before, I work many, many years in reputation, in trust, and I have my own scale in trust from zero to 10. And in war you should trust people. You should find people whom you can really can trust in nine because for me, a 10, it's God. Trust for God. Nine is trust for people whom you are ready to trust your life.
In war, it's real, trust between people. And every day I organize maybe hundreds of communication between people who really help, who really want to help Ukraine. It's professional soldiers or officers or retired soldiers who says, "Oleksii, we cannot fight for Ukraine, but we can fight with Ukraine in our country to help promote Ukraine or to help with right connections." Trust is very important.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
It is. How can people help? How can they find out about the work that you do to help really in any way that they can? If they're not able to help out boots on the ground, maybe they are a leader of an organization and they would like to help, what would be the best ways that you could recommend?
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
My recommendation, it's really find good guys. If it will be a soldier like me, it's okay. If it will be some officers or some organizations that you can trust, but maybe it will be the best experience of my life. As I told you, I believe in happiness more than 20 years. And I believe in reputation, in trust. It's my core values, it's my experience, it's my life and it's all my communications.
If somebody work in PR management, in reputation management, this guy have the same passion as me. If you can find inside Ukrainian army soldiers or officers who have the same interest as you, you can find not the person whom you can help, I don't know, with money, with some equipment or some, I don't know. But you can find the person with whom you will be happy to meet after the victory. And believe me, you can find very, very good friends.
Very good, I don't know, maybe mentor or maybe in spiritual guys who will inspire you in the future. Or maybe you can find a partner to do business with Ukraine. That's my recommendation. Find inside Ukraine, people with the same passion as you have. It really help you to trust these people, this guy and it will be long term relationship between US and Ukraine or Canada and Ukraine. It help, it work in my life many years and now it's work very, very, very good.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Thank you. You talk about happiness and trust. The happiness side is maybe thought of more the emotional. What makes me happy, the things that I do that I feel that there's value in what I do, helping others? Can you talk to that just a little bit on that emotional side of it?
How that makes you feel and all the work that you do that you're helping, whether you're on a call, whether you're shaking hands, whether you're communicating. How that makes you feel and how that really fuels you to continue on as an individual, as a soldier, as a father.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
As a father, it may be number one because if you will ask someday, all Ukrainian soldiers, more than 1 million Ukrainian now are fighting for Ukraine. I think this 100% of them thinking about better future for their family and for their childrens. That's why number one, what make me happy it's happiness of my childrens and happiness of my family.
And number two, it's connections between strangers. Because if you just donate, I don't know, $100 or $1,000 or just millions of dollars for somebody. Organization like United24, it's a huge campaign of our president and they fundraise hundreds of millions dollars around the globe, you just feel that you are part of something big. But if you can find one person and ask this person what this person really need. It's maybe, I don't know, something very small and very little, just conversation via Zoom or somewhere very cheap, but you will have connections between people. Just trust me. It will help you to feel connections and to feel happiness.
And in Ukraine, it's for the last two years, it's a miracle because when I just walk in the street as a soldier in my uniform, all Ukrainians want to help me. Help give me a coffee, just give me a, I don't know, car or something else. And when you give something for somebody, you receive something from somebody. And believe me, you can receive inspirations from Ukrainian soldiers whatever with whom you will speak, you will feel it.
Because one day I wanted a lot of Americans people come to Ukraine to see not the victim of this war, but the people who win this war, the people who will inspire the world. And you will find the friends in Ukraine after the victory of Ukraine.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Absolutely. And I remember the short time that I was in Kyiv walking that it was a little bit longer walk from the train station to the Holiday Inn. I should've took some type of transportation, but I was able to see a lot. One of the areas I was able to see was a park for children and kids playing and those types of things that children just want to be children. Going down the slide, going on the swing, parents out on a sunny day having a picnic.
And exactly what you're saying that you want people to come after the fact, you don't just want the relationship to be kind of a transaction only. You want people to really be invested in the people and you really can't beat that.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
And I think this will be very useful if 1 million Americans people connect with 1 million Ukrainian soldier and just communicate. Just organized through a Zoom meeting or phone calls, it will help both sides to feel each other and more understand the truth about what happens, what happen inside Ukraine right now.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
So we just have a couple minutes left on our time together. We've talked on a wide variety of topics. Is there something we haven't covered or something you want to cover again to have a final takeaway message?
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
I just want to repeat again that you should understand that you should inspire about Ukraine. Not just looking how you can give just money for Ukraine or food or weapon or something else. Just feel this millions of Ukrainian people, now it's heroes. And you should find and receive some small spirit of this spiritual people and just see Ukraine as a victory, people who will win, not the people who refugees or people who need help.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Absolutely.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
And one day, Ukraine will be in top 10 most happiest and most trusted countries. This is my vision and I think this is our time to do it.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Absolutely. Oleksii, thank you so much for your time. If you'll stick around after we finish, we'll take a few photos for promo for this episode. It was an absolute blast talking to you, hearing your inspiration, talking about happiness, the future. I truly hope that our audience, our viewers, our listeners, people checking out the transcript, will really buy into that relationship building, not just a transaction with Ukraine.
And for myself being over there, being over in Kyiv just a short time, that was one of the reasons I wanted to go, just to be with the people. To eat at the restaurant by the square or grab an ice cream. Just small things that are going to help out people with their wages and again, create that happiness. If somebody's happy serving food or working at a shop, providing a service, that's really what it's all about. So thank you very much for joining us.
Ukrainian Soldier, Oleksii Chuiev:
Thank you, Justin.
Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:
Absolutely. And thank you for joining us as well. Thank you for your support for Voices for Voices, your support for Ukraine. And again, please dig in and see if you're able to connect with some of the Ukrainian people, some of the soldiers, and create, as Oleksii was mentioning, some of those relationships that can start and then continue long after the war. And as Oleksii said that Ukraine's going to be in the top 10 of the most happiest countries in the world.
So until next time, I am Justin Allan Hayes, founder and executive director of Voices for Voices. And this has been another episode of the Voices for Voices TV Show and Podcast. So until next time, have a great day and be a voice for you or somebody in need.
Please donate to Voices for Voices, a 501c3 nonprofit charity today at: https://www.voicesforvoices.org/shop/p/donate
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