Inside Ukraine’s drone war and daily grit — with filmmaker Ronnie Apteker
South African entrepreneur and filmmaker Ronnie Apteker joins Alec Hogg to reflect on Ukraine’s transformation from vibrant tech hub to war-torn nation. In this deeply moving conversation, he shares the inspiration behind his documentary Kyiv of Mine, exploring the country’s resilience, trauma, and fragile hope amid devastation - and why the world must not look away.
You can watch Kyiv of Mine on YouTube by clicking here.
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BizNews Reporter
Time flies, even when you’re not having fun - especially in Ukraine. It has now been nearly three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour, and yet the war grinds on with little sign of resolution. For South African-born entrepreneur and filmmaker Ronnie Apteker, Ukraine is more than a headline. It is a place he once called home, a land he loves deeply, and the subject of his powerful documentary Kyiv of Mine.
When I caught up with him recently, Apteker was in London, where he now lives with his wife and young son. “We got here at the end of last year,” he says. “We’d been in Poland for almost two years, going back and forth between Wroclaw and Kyiv. But once our boy was ready for school, we decided to settle in the UK.”
Apteker’s connection to Ukraine long predates the war. As a co-founder of Internet Solutions and one of South Africa’s pioneering tech entrepreneurs, he was drawn to Kyiv’s booming technology scene and creative energy. “I thought I’d be there until I was old and grey,” he recalls. “It was Europe’s tech hub - full of innovation, culture, and life. Before the pandemic, it was even challenging Prague as a film-making destination.”
That dream came crashing down in February 2022 when Russia invaded. Apteker was asleep in his Kyiv flat when the first bombs fell. “The building started shaking around 4:30 in the morning. I was terrified. None of us believed it would actually happen.” Within a week, he and his family fled the city, first returning briefly to South Africa and then moving to Poland.
The invasion changed everything - not only his life, but also the trajectory of Kyiv of Mine. Initially conceived as a documentary about Kyiv’s thriving IT entrepreneurs, the film evolved into a chronicle of resilience and survival. “You couldn’t tell a story about Ukraine anymore and ignore the war,” he explains. “It became about how ordinary people adapted, how they kept living their dream in the face of destruction.”
The first three chapters of Kyiv of Mine, available for free on YouTube, trace Ukraine’s journey from promise to pain: the optimism before the invasion, the shock of the first attacks, and the fragile resilience that followed. The next planned chapter, Apteker says, will explore “exhaustion - because that’s what Ukrainians are feeling now. They are tired, angry, traumatised, but still standing.”
He speaks candidly about the toll of the conflict. “I’ve lost friends. I’ve seen what missiles can do. The sound of them alone gives you nightmares,” he says. “People go to bomb shelters not just for safety, but to escape that terrifying noise.” Yet even in these dark times, he finds humour and humanity. “In a Kyiv bomb shelter, someone might joke, ‘Welcome to tonight’s comedy show’ - because everyone’s trapped there together. That’s the Ukrainian spirit.”
Apteker is frustrated by how little many people in the West seem to know or care about the war. “In London, I still hear people ask, ‘Is that war still going on?’ They don’t understand that Ukraine isn’t ‘the Ukraine’ - it’s a sovereign nation that was thriving before it was attacked.”
He sees Ukraine as a nation of extraordinary potential. “It’s the breadbasket of Europe, rich in natural resources and talent. It was becoming the next Berlin - a hotspot for film, fashion, and technology.” He lists Ukrainian contributions to global innovation: “Grammarly, WhatsApp’s founder, PayPal’s founders - many have Ukrainian roots. It’s a country of brains and creativity.”
Asked why he continues to devote himself to a film about such a painful subject, Apteker pauses. “Because I want people to see what we’re losing,” he says. “Kyiv of Mine started as a love letter to a city full of light, laughter, and innovation. Now it’s also a testament to courage and endurance. Ukraine will survive - but the world must not look away.”