A heart for the Ukraine

These badges with the shape of a heart and the colours of the Ukraine are handmade in Longyearbyen by Julia Lytvynova who comes from Kharkiv in the Ukraine hergestellt. The entire net revenue benefits Ukrainian people suffering from the war.

Some think that Longyearbyen is far away from the world. This is anything but true - with Barentsburg, there is a settlement where several 100 Russians and Ukrainians are living together (seems unbelievable these days, doesn't it?) less than 40 km away.

And there are Ukrainians living in Longyearbyen. Meeting them and hearing what they say can be a heartbreaking experience these days.

Julia Lytvynova is from the Ukraine - from the town Kharkiv in the northeast of the country, an area hit very badly by the ongoing war. Julia is working in the sewing shop "Systua i Nord" in Longyearbyen, where she hand-makes these little badges in the Ukrainian colours. She donates her complete revenue from the sales of the hearts through private channels to people in her home country who do whatever they can to make things better. This is one half of the net revenue of the sales on this website. The other half goes through a major German aid organisation ("Aktion Deutschland hilft") to Ukrainians in need. So the entire income generated from the sales benefits Ukrainian people affected by the war - no profit whatsoever involved for anyone here. Well, you get a lovely little heart in Ukrainian colours, handmade in Longyearbyen, to visibly express your empathy for the Ukrainian victims of the Russian aggression!

The hearts are produced manually in Longyearbyen by Julia Lytvynova. There aren't two of them which are exactly alike. The material is quite strong PVC-sheet that is normally used in the sewing shop to produce outdoor gear. The size of the heart is approximately 5 cm.