Home is not where you are born - it is where your heart finds peace. That thought takes on a very particular weight when the place your heart calls home is also a country at war.

For decades, economists and demographers have measured human migration through the lens of rational calculation: safety, income, stability. Yet what we observe in Ukraine today tells a different story.

Since russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has seen one of the largest return migration flows in the world among active conflict zones, with over 5 million people returning despite ongoing hostilities, according to the UN. Meanwhile, the World Bank has noted that Ukraine's private sector has shown remarkable resilience, with businesses continuing to operate, adapt, and grow.

What drives a person to choose a country that the world might reasonably consider a risk? Today, three remarkable voices offer their answer in the only currency that truly matters: lived personal experience.

For me, living in Ukraine is no longer a matter of choice, but a matter of inner state and a need to live my life here and now, and to take part in shaping the future: for myself, my children, and for all of us Ukrainians.

Today, Ukraine is about complexity and strength at the same time. Risks are high, but the level of trust is even higher. Trust is becoming the new currency nowadays and enables the creation of communities of people who are ready to take broader responsibility and act. Over these years, I have repeatedly become convinced that there is nothing impossible. We, the Ukrainians, know how to adapt, find solutions, and move forward even in the most challenging environment, and share this resilience with the world.

In my professional life, Ukraine is a place where business makes sense. Where every decision is not only about results, but about conscious impact on people, on the economy, and on the country.

At Raiffeisen Bank, we have been proving this by our actions throughout 34 years, and especially since the start of the full-scale war. The bank has not stopped supporting the economy for a single moment, continuing to finance the key sectors: agriculture, logistics, retail, pharmaceuticals, and energy. Today, Ukraine is confronted with challenges, but it also offers opportunities. Entrepreneurship, and especially small and medium-sized business, is becoming the foundation of economic growth: businesses created by women, veterans, and everyone who is ready to engage in creation and embrace responsibility.

The education sector also needs support from us, the business community. This is how we shape a new generation — leaders and professionals who will rebuild the country. At the same time, Ukraine is integrating ever more deeply into Europe, opening up new directions and attracting interest from international partners.

On a personal level, Ukraine is my home. A place where you wake up with a sense of purpose. Confidence comes from people: our defenders, for whom I feel deep respect and boundless gratitude — thanks to them, I live, dream, and act; our teams, clients, and everyone who stands with the country every day.

This is the source of energy to keep moving forward. And it also gives a very clear inner feeling: I am exactly where I am meant to be today.

When I explain to various people that I am a Ukrainian American who has chosen to live in Kyiv throughout the war, I get a variety of reactions. Some colleagues are amazed that my family and I have made a conscious decision to move to Ukraine at all. Some are genuinely grateful to know how deeply I appreciate this wonderful country of my ancestors, and that I have chosen to make my life here.

This is the third time I am living in Ukraine. I first came here in March 1991 when I was the head of the Press Office of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and Patriarch Myroslav Ivan Cardinal Lubachivsky returned to a church and faithful who were newly legal and coming out of the underground. The USSR was still in existence and Ukraine was months away from declaring independence.

It was a historic and exciting time. My husband and I wanted to be witnesses to the changes. Ukrainians unilaterally clamored for independence. There was great hope and a sense of possibility.

My family initially stayed in Ukraine until 1999. I began a career in 1996 with The Coca-Cola Company that year which lasted a wonderful 20 years, and I managed to climb the ranks to an executive role as senior vice president of public affairs and communications. I had a chance to live in many cities, and travel to many more. But in truth, my heart was always in Ukraine, and I tried to return at every opportunity.

Having been born in the United States to parents who immigrated from Ukraine, I was a member of the US diaspora and was raised on the dream of a free and independent Ukraine. I had started a good career as a journalist and then as a communications professional in my hometown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But I also longed to see life in other countries, and I leaped at the opportunity in 1989 to live and work in Rome – even if working for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church effectively meant halving the salary I was making at that time. From Rome I came to Lviv and found myself wishing I could stay forever.

But why? What is it about Ukraine that makes those of us who are not citizens of this incredible country choose to live here? I don’t think it is to do with one’s DNA. I am indeed Ukrainian by heritage, but I am a product of American society. And I know many, many people who are nationals of other countries with no connection to Ukraine, who have made the conscious decision to move and live here. I also know many Ukrainians who have been born here but have chosen to leave and build their lives in other countries. I think it is a personal choice above all and indeed, we all should live where we feel most comfortable if we have the opportunity.

I can only speak for myself. From the moment I first arrived here, I was struck by the incredible possibilities for progress and innovation in Ukraine. The “can do” attitude of Ukrainians is not something that is evident in many other societies. Generally, there is a great commitment to excellence and something that I can only explain as a “why not?” attitude. It is infectious. Even though Ukraine as a country can trace its history over many centuries, I find that Ukrainians – regardless of their age - look at the world with fresh, young eyes.

I have been fortunate to live here three separate times, from 1991-1999; then from 2006-2009 and since 2018 to the present day. The changes I witnessed throughout those intervals were tremendous. What Ukrainians have achieved in nearly 35 years of independence is breathtaking. The impression is of an impatient society that is embracing its capabilities with courage, decisiveness, and confidence. It is intoxicating. I can tell you, it is not a feeling that citizens of many other countries have.

Of course, the last years of war have created the widely believed image of the highly educated, resilient, resourceful, and fearless Ukrainian standing against all odds - and winning. But it is not a myth. It is who Ukrainians are, and that is perhaps the greatest secret to the country’s survival and its enchantment to the world. Who wouldn’t want to live in a country where everyone believes anything is possible?

I lived and worked in pursuit of the American dream and was largely able to achieve success in my career and happiness in my life because of those opportunities. But the Ukrainian dream is the new nirvana. It is born of a people who don’t know what it means to give up. Who know what they are fighting for and why. For me, I am just so happy to be here, and to see and feel the possibilities. I believe Ukraine is now seen as it has long deserved to be seen - it is a leading country of the world, made up of a people who demonstrate their greatness not through words, but through deeds. Yes, there have been mistakes.

Where are there not?

I plan to take Ukrainian citizenship this year because I want to be a part of the Ukrainian dream. I can’t think of a better way to demonstrate my faith in this wonderful country. It is indeed my nirvana.

I have spent 2 years in Stockholm, Sweden. I was quite happy professionally, while being with PWC Sweden as a senior tax policy counsel. My son has been attending a very nice international public school. Yet we both were deeply homesick. This feeling - one might call it irrational - has prevailed. In 2025, we came back home. And it totally made sense for us.

I don’t live in a context of constant assessment of risks. I accepted a ”Ukraine at war” reality as it is, with all the risks attached as a cost of my decision of coming back home. I do feel Ukraine is a land of opportunity, it’s a place where something very important to us all is being fought for and built. I am so happy to see that the culture and creativity is thriving, and that the Ukrainian businesses despite all the challenges, keep calm and carry on!

Ukraine plays a huge role innny professional life too. I am a lawyer by my background, and in that sense I am attached to the soil. Although I am an international tax law practitioner and my skills are relevant in many places beyond Ukraine, I like it here! I want to be a part of this land business history too.

The war offered me lots of insights, among them being a realization how much I value like minded people, business partners and friends. It is my own private circle of friends who I rely on for motivation. I like the sense of being with my people all along the way, and that’s why I am here at the end of the day.

I do hope the war ends with a fair peace and Ukraine thrives! Слава Україні!

The philosopher Albert Camus wrote that the act of choosing one's struggle is itself the source of human dignity. In Ukraine today, that choice is being made daily, with full awareness of the circumstances and full commitment to what comes next.

Ukraine's future will be shaped in boardrooms, courtrooms, classrooms, and communities by people who decided that now is precisely the moment to be here. As these three voices make clear, the question "Why Ukraine?" ultimately answers itself: because something worth building is being built, and some people simply cannot be anywhere else while that is happening.