Oleksandr Kondratyev, born in the Ukrainian city of Cherkasy, has been living in Slovakia for almost 10 years. Together with his girlfriend Nataliia, they got a Penta Foundation scholarship for Ukrainian students who wish to come to Slovakia to study. Nataliia Koshova is a final year student at the Faculty of Medicine and Oleksandr, who graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics, and Informatics at Comenius University, now works as an analyst at Penta Real Estate.
They both grew up in Ukraine, forming strong roots and relationships with their family, friends and loved ones. Even though they have spent one third of their lives in Slovakia, they are proud Ukrainians at heart, deeply affected by the news of Russian military invasion of Ukraine. Their hometown hasn’t been threatened by the Russian army so far, there is no fighting in the streets, but the sound of sirens can be heard several times a day and people are cautiously hiding in the basements of their homes to stay safe.
In the latest episode of Penta Podcast, we discussed all sorts of topics. We learned what is Ukraine like as a country, what are Ukrainians like as a nation, how do Oleksandr and Nataliia like living in Slovakia and what were their first thoughts and feelings on the morning of February 24.
Listen to Penta Podcast: