A Ukrainian Web3 Developer’s Saga to Rescue His Mother With The Russian Army Surrounding Her Town

As they drove, the sound of Russian jets roaring in the sky above them, as well as tanks visible in the distance, made them doubt if they could make it out alive.

Altar Metaverse employees have been forced to work while in hiding during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Larissa Paschova breathed deeply as she started the engine for the treacherous journey to the Romanian border, some 600 kilometers south of her home in Sumy, Ukraine. Although it was a longer drive than to the Moldovan border, the queues were reportedly shorter and passage across the border faster. It was no mean feat that her son Illia Pashkov, a U.S.-based Ukrainian tech entrepreneur, had managed to secure a car with gas for her. Illia, who founded Altar Metaverse, a cross-metaverse hub with a non-fungible token, or NFT, marketplace, had a meticulous plan to get his mom out of Ukraine.  

“I felt helpless and hopeless. I wasn’t there,” Illia told me recently. “The Russian military had surrounded my city, Sumy, and my mother was trapped. They were shooting civilians who tried to escape. From a great distance away in Los Angeles, I started my operation to get my mother out.”

He arranged for her to join other groups of escapees with his friends in different towns offering them safe houses. “Through a network of volunteers with intelligence on the ground, I found a number of safe roads that were not yet blocked by the Russian army,” he said.

As they drove, the sound of Russian jets roaring in the sky above them, as well as tanks visible in the distance, made them doubt if they could make it out alive.

“My mother told me that for the first time in her life she was scared of planes.” 

Illia Pashkov and Larissa, safe outside of Ukraine

What came to pass was a series of miracles that Pashkov feels God must have had a hand in. Not the least, the courage and resourcefulness of Larissa who managed to save two further women, a child, a dog and a cat on her journey to safety. After three terrifying days of hiding and driving, Larissa’s car crossed into Romania where her son was waiting for her.

I caught up with Ilia by phone a few days after he had managed to rescue his mother. While obviously overjoyed to have his mother with him, he was still very much troubled that his team, including his business partner, Eugen Chernov, are still trapped in Ukraine. They are scattered and hiding in bunkers and shelters underground with their families. They have their phones, computers, the few clothes they were able to take with them and whatever food they can safely retrieve from above ground. As power gets cut, or conditions become unsustainable, they are forced to find new hiding spots, sometimes in different towns. One of Illia’s team members has left to take up arms and fight against the Russian army.

Only weeks before the whole world seemed completely different to Illia. In late February the headquarters of Altar Metaverse in Los Angeles was buzzing with anticipation. Just one year prior Pashkov had come up with a vision to build Altar, a platform to create or buy NFTs, to host wallets and allow users to experience augmented reality in 3-D.

His remote global team, which includes technologists, designers and developers in his native country of Ukraine, were working steadily towards a mid-April launch date. The future seemed very bright for this Metaverse startup.

Over the past ten years Ukraine has secured its reputation as a thriving tech and creative ecosystem. Skilled talent and lower wages compared to Western Europe have made Ukrainian developers and digital creative workers highly sought after. This environment has proven a fertile ground for Pashkov who has co-founded ventures in branding design, health, blockchain and augmented reality. 

Altar Metaverse coming soon

More Ukrainians than any other nationality own cryptocurrency, with 12.7 percent of the population having bought digital assets. The wave of excitement around NFTs and the Metaverse reached Ukraine in mid-2020 in a big way. New startups began to emerge, and by the end of 2021, a handful had started to find their place on the global stage. 

On February 24th, Pashkov was in Los Angeles when the news came that Russia had invaded his country, forcing his mother, relatives, and his team into hiding. Pashkov, as he has learned to do, sprang into action.

“I immediately accessed groups in Telegram to coordinate logistics to evacuate people and raise funds,” he said. “We have raised over $300,000 and have secured the evacuation of 600 people so far. We created a network of 2,000 volunteers on the ground in neighboring countries. I started to create art because I am a designer. I protested in LA and did interviews on TV wherever I could.”

Within the first few days of the war, he had mobilized his entire network to launch #WithUkraine, a grass-roots social movement to fund living essentials, evacuation of women and children, and reconstruction efforts of Ukraine. It was in joining this community that I met Pashkov. What I have witnessed in engaging with Ukrainian entrepreneurs these past weeks is their gutsy and fearless resolve to triumph over the Russian invasion and bring back peace to their burgeoning country. Their call for donations to rebuild their country, while still very much in the midst of a war, shows resilience and optimism.

Illia and Larissa are now safe in Italy. Together, they have stepped up their fundraising, activism and humanitarian work for Ukraine. Despite weeks of hell and little sleep, Illia is adamant that they will not slow down while their country is under attack.

“There is no place for war in this world,” he said. “I want all people to unite together. Innocent people, children and mothers should not die. We stand #WithUkraine.”

Miz Feiler is a Metaverse community builder, podcaster and creator based in Singapore. She co-creates, as well as independently produces programs, events and creative projects in word, sound video, music and art - both physical and digital. Her NFT project New Day Tomorrow is a collective of musicians, artists and creative technologists exploring Memory and its tangled complexities. She educates entrepreneurs about Web 3 and the Metaverse through her podcast, The Metaverse With Miz.