Sumykamvol, a textile business in Ukraine’s north-central Sumy Oblast, was the last industrial factory to be set up in Soviet Ukraine. Starting production in 1987, it was one of the largest textile plants in the Soviet Union, producing part-wool yarn.

How would you like a fireplace in your apartment, one with real fire, but that doesn’t produce smoke, or soot, and that doesn’t even need a chimney? One that doesn’t burn coal or wood – that’s completely environmentally friendly – that you can even control from a smartphone app?

These days, printer Denys Pidchenko’s company is printing lots of stickers with patriotic slogans, as well as mugs emblazoned with “Glory to Ukraine!”, and embroidering phrases in support of Ukraine onto blue and yellow T-shirts.

Olena Vynokurova is not one to give up easily. She and her husband, from Severodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast, started their own business with only two sewing machines and the will to build their own business from scratch.

“On February 24, we woke up to the sound of explosions – we live near a military airfield. We immediately cancelled all appointments in our dental clinic, because we had no idea what was going on. We were worried about our employees and patients.”