Maksym Kovalenko is a professor of chemistry at ETH Zurich. He and his wife, who is a researcher at Empa, are both Ukrainian and grew up close to the city of Chernivtsi in the western Ukrainian region of Bukovina. When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, both of their mothers – aged 65 and 82, with medical conditions and no other children to help them – were living alone in the Chernivtsi region.

When did you decide to rescue your mother and mother-in-law?

Maksym Kovalenko: When it became clear that Russia was going to invade the whole of Ukraine and not just the separatist regions in the east, my wife and I knew that we had to get them out. Otherwise, there was the risk that they might be cut off completely one day. We knew that we couldn’t leave them alone in Chernivtsi, particularly given their medical needs.

Was Chernivtsi already affected by the war?

It was luckily one of Ukraine’s few regional centres that had escaped being bombed. But we knew this could change very rapidly, especially now that the Russian Army is deliberately bombing residential areas.

How did you plan the rescue?

I called my mother at noon on Friday and told her that she and my mother-in-law had to get ready to leave right away. She was shocked at first and insisted that she had to at least say goodbye to a couple of friends before she could pack a few things and her most important documents. As the border between Ukraine and Moldova is easier to cross than the one with Romania, we decided to meet them in the village of Costesti on the Moldovan-Romanian border. A good family friend picked them up and took them there by car. As the last flight into Ukraine had been cancelled shortly before the invasion, I had no other choice but to drive the 1,700 kilometres to Costesti.

When did you leave Zurich?

I left Zurich on Friday evening at around 8 p.m. in the company of a friend who is also Ukrainian. We took shifts at the wheel and drove virtually non-stop through Germany, Austria, Hungary and Romania. We wanted to get there as fast as possible and only stopped for short breaks. After 25 hours on the road, we arrived at Costesti around 9 p.m. on Saturday. We picked them up and started to drive back to Zurich right away.

How did it feel to be reunited with your mother and mother-in-law?

I was so relieved that everything had worked out and that they were both doing well.

How did the journey back to Switzerland go?

Well, the first obstacle was the border crossing with Romania. It took us seven hours to get across. There was a huge queue of single-lane traffic. We only edged forward about 10 metres every 15 minutes or so. Every car was checked thoroughly. The same was the case at the Hungarian border, which took us eight hours to cross.

15 hours in traffic jams. You must have been absolutely exhausted.  

You cannot imagine the acts of human kindness we witnessed at both borders. There were volunteers and people from the Red Cross distributing food and drink to the people in the waiting cars. We accepted some tea and coffee. On the Moldovan border, people were even handing out delicious home-​made bread that reminded me of the bread my mother used to bake when I was a child. Compared to the many people who had to leave everything behind, we seemed to have got away relatively unscathed.

When did you get to Zurich?

We arrived at 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon – after 68 hours of travelling! We once again drove in shifts throughout the day and night. I was worried that it might be too exhausting for my mother and mother-in-law, but they managed to get some sleep in the backseat. They were also both determined to get to Switzerland as quickly as possible.

What did you do as soon as you got home? Go straight to bed?

No, I had to wait to catch up on my sleep. After dropping my mother and mother-in-law both off at home, I went to the office to take part in a departmental meeting and a meeting of the Swiss National Science Foundation in which we to discussed how Swiss universities could help Ukrainian scientists in Switzerland and in Ukraine.

How does it feel to be back in Zurich while your country continues to be under attack?

Honestly, when I see all those brave Ukrainian men and women defending their homes, I feel guilty about being here in safety and not having to risk my life for my country. Although it is hard to focus on anything other than the war, life goes on.

How is your life here in Zurich continuing?

I have a research group of more than 35 researchers to supervise and several courses to teach this semester. There are currently seven doctoral students and one postdoc of Ukrainian origin, as well as six visiting Bachelor’s and Master’s students from Ukraine in my group. They are, of course, all very much affected by the war. Some of their family members face very difficult, life-threatening situations. I try to give my Ukrainian students as much support as possible. They stand united, participate in anti-war demonstrations, collect donations and organise critically needed medical supplies for Ukraine. On top of that, they are continuing their research projects. I admire their strength.

Maksym Kovalenko has been a Professor of Functional Inorganic Materials at ETH Zurich since 2011 and Head of the Functional Inorganic Materials Group at Empa. In 2019, the Ukrainian-born scientist received the Rössler Prize for his research into bright nanoparticles.