Yellow Blue

In 2018, 17-year-old school student Valentyn Frechka from Zakarpattia made paper from fallen leaves and won the Genius Olympiad in the United States. Two years later, he improved the technology, founded Releaf PAPER, and began working with the Ukrainian offices of L’Oréal and Samsung and the Le Silpo premium supermarket chain.

Since 2022, Frechka has been developing Releaf Paper in France, where the company has built its own production line and now supplies thousands of tons of paper and packaging to Uber Eats, LVMH, Kering, L’Oréal Group, and other global companies.

Yellow Blue journalist Sofiia Korotunenko spoke with Frechka about turning a school experiment into an international business, choosing fallen leaves as an alternative to wood, working with luxury brands, and his ambitions for the global market.

👉 Read the interview on YB:

English version: https://yellowblue.pro/vybrane/205-releaf-paper-makes-paper-from-fallen-leaves-for-global-brands-interview

Ukrainian version: https://yellowblue.pro/uk/vybrane/205-releaf-paper-vyhotovliaye-papir-z-opaloho-lystia-i-prodaye-svitovym-brendam-interviu

Photo credits: Releaf Paper / Valentyn Frechka

Four people featured on Yellow Blue whose work supports Ukraine, each in their own field.

This time, we brought together quotes from German paramedic Maxim Dohrmann, journalist Kristina Berdynskykh, photographer Sasha Maslov, and conservator Dariia Martyniuk.

Swipe through the carousel and read their full stories on Yellow Blue:

Kristina Berdynskykh: https://yellowblue.pro/vybrane/190-kristina-berdynskyh-explains-how-to-work-with-foreign-media

Sasha Maslov: https://yellowblue.pro/vybrane/188-how-sasha-maslov-photographs-the-war-in-ukraine

Dariia Martyniuk: https://yellowblue.pro/vybrane/179-how-dariia-martyniuk-preserves-memory-at-auschwitz-birkenau

Maxim Dohrmann: https://yellowblue.pro/vybrane/196-maxim-dohrmann-on-medical-evacuation-in-ukraine

Ukrainian brand GUNIA project and international publishing house ASSOULINE have announced Naïve My Love: Ukrainian Art of the 20th Century, a new book presenting 40 Ukrainian naive artists to the world.

Decades ago, their works were found at local markets, tucked away in attics, or painted directly onto household furniture. Now, they are becoming part of an international publication dedicated to 20th-century Ukrainian art.

Yellow Blue journalist Roksana Rublevska spoke with the book’s curator and РОДОВІД publishing house founder Lidia Lykhach about tracing forgotten artists, selecting an untitled work for the cover, and the international trajectory of Ukrainian self-taught art.

👉 Read the story on YB:

English version: https://yellowblue.pro/vybrane/216-assouline-book-on-ukrainian-naive-art-lidia-lykhach

Ukrainian version: https://yellowblue.pro/uk/vybrane/216-assouline-vydaye-knyhu-pro-ukrayinskyy-nayiv-lidiya-lykhach

For more than four years, World Central Kitchen has been working in Ukraine, providing food to frontline communities, supporting displaced people, and helping on the sites of Russian attacks.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, WCK’s work in the country started with serving hot meals at the Lviv railway station. Today, it has grown into a large operation with teams working across different regions of Ukraine.

Yellow Blue journalist Artem Moskalenko spoke with Yuliia Stefaniuk, who leads WCK’s Ukraine mission, about working near the front line, responding after Russian attacks, and the scenarios the team is preparing for today.

👉 Read the interview on YB:

English version: https://yellowblue.pro/vybrane/208-how-world-central-kitchen-helps-ukraine

Ukrainian version: https://yellowblue.pro/uk/vybrane/208-yak-world-central-kitchen-dopomahaye-ukrayini

Photo credits: World Central Kitchen / Yuliia Stefaniuk

At 28, Kyiv native Niya Nikel gave birth to her daughter Eva, who has a rare genetic mutation known as Jamuar syndrome. Because of it, Eva lives with severe epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and developmental delays. The medications she needed were unavailable in Ukraine, while treatment protocols didn't reflect international practice.

Niya began searching for doctors, medications, and treatment options abroad on her own. Over time, her personal struggle became a systemic one: in Ukraine, she founded the NGO Epiprosvita, joined the campaign to legalize medical cannabis, and is now working to register essential anti-seizure medications and change epilepsy treatment.

Yellow Blue journalist Roksana Rublevska recorded Niya Nikel’s story of how the search for treatment for her daughter turned into a fight for change for other Ukrainian families.

👉 Read her story on YB:

English version: https://yellowblue.pro/vybrane/210-niya-nickel-is-changing-epilepsy-treatment-in-ukraine

Ukrainian version: https://yellowblue.pro/uk/vybrane/210-niia-nikel-zminiuye-likuvannia-epilepsiyi-v-ukrayini

Photo credits: Niya Nikel

Russian missiles and drones regularly target Ukrainian businesses, striking factories, warehouses, retail locations, and logistics hubs. Companies lose critical inventory, equipment, and facilities, forcing some to rebuild from scratch or shut down completely.

Yellow Blue tracks Ukrainian businesses affected by Russian attacks in one list. As new strikes occur almost daily, we update it every Monday.

You can support these companies by purchasing their products in Ukraine and abroad—and help protect them from future attacks by donating to the Ukrainian air defense.

👉 Explore the list on YB:

English version: https://yellowblue.pro/we-recommend/213-russia-is-destroying-ukrainian-businesses-support-them

Ukrainian version: https://yellowblue.pro/uk/we-recommend/213-rosiia-znyshchuye-ukrayinski-biznesy-pidtrymayte-yikh

In 2021, entrepreneur Vitalii Somka was looking for a country where he could launch an online professional education platform. After researching markets on four continents, he chose Indonesia for its strong potential and limited competition, launching JayJay in May 2022.

During its first year, the platform changed its business model because of the full-scale invasion, raised $1 million in investment, and found its niche in creative industries education.

Yellow Blue journalist Artem Moskalenko spoke with JayJay founder Vitalii Somka about launching a business in Indonesia, working with a local team, and plans to enter other Asian markets.

👉 Read the interview on YB:

English version: https://yellowblue.pro/vybrane/212-ukrainian-jayjay-raised-1-million-and-became-indonesias-creative-education-leader

Ukrainian version: https://yellowblue.pro/uk/vybrane/212-ukrayinskyy-jayjay-zaluchyv-1-milyon-i-stav-liderom-kreatyvnoyi-osvity-v-indoneziyi

Photo credits: JayJay

In September 2024, Serhii Ryzhkov and Denys Maltsev founded HEFT Systems, with Mariia Mashkovska later joining the team to lead business development and international partnerships. The collars continuously collect data on the animals’ activity, including how much time they spend chewing and drinking water, while AI analyzes the data to detect early signs of illness and determine the best time for insemination.

Today, around 500 cows on farms in Ukraine and Romania are connected to the HEFT system, and the startup is preparing to expand into the US, European, and Asian markets.

Yellow Blue journalist Sofiia Korotunenko spoke with the HEFT co-founders about how technology helps farmers monitor cow health, what sets their devices apart from competitors, and how the startup plans to scale internationally.

👉 Read the interview on YB:

English version: https://yellowblue.pro/vybrane/209-ukrainian-startup-heft-creates-apple-watch-for-cows

Ukrainian version: https://yellowblue.pro/uk/vybrane/209-ukrayinskyy-startap-heft-stvoryv-apple-watch-dlia-koriv

Photo credits: HEFT

Stalkers explore the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, Galicians fight for a planet in space, Cossacks wage wars, forest spirits gather herbs for tea, and a Ukrainian village of the 1990s becomes the setting for a horror story.

Ukrainian gamedev is much more than S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Metro. It’s dozens of very different worlds from large-scale RPGs and strategy games to detective stories, cozy puzzles, horror games, and simulators.

Yellow Blue put together 30 video games by Ukrainian developers that have earned positive reviews from critics and Steam players. Pick your next game and support the Ukrainian videogame industry.

👉 Read on YB:

English version: https://yellowblue.pro/vybrane/211-30-video-games-by-ukrainian-developers

Ukrainian version: https://yellowblue.pro/uk/vybrane/211-30-videoihor-vid-ukrayinskykh-rozrobnykiv