Once a Ukrainian bike tour guide, a refugee now raises money for the troops

Yurii Panchenko, who fled Ukraine with his wife and only daughter, has begun raising funds through his Ukrainian mountain bike business.

Yurii Panchenko, who fled Ukraine with his wife and only daughter hours after the first Russian missile exploded near his house, has begun raising funds through his Ukrainian mountain bike business, offering tours in and around Kyiv via Airbnb.

There are no actual tours taking place, as Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, continues to face indiscriminate missile strikes and shelling by the Russian military. But money, which will be used to support the Ukrainian defense, keeps flowing into Panchenko’s account.

“People from all over the world have booked tours for several months ahead just to support us,” Panchenko said, adding, “Except for Russians. We haven’t had bookings from there yet.”

Before the war, Panchenko’s tours were called “Mountain Biking In Kyiv” and the business had about one request per week. He renamed them “Support Ukrainian Army Mountain Bike Tours in Kyiv" and demand flew off the chart. The idea came a few days ago, with a booking request for a bike tour on a day when bombs were falling on the Ukrainian capital.