E-bike brand Delfast’s team in Ukraine keeps strong as invasion rages around them

Delfast is an e-bike developer best-known as the team behind the Guinness World Record for the longest distance traveled on a single battery charge. The company launched in 2014 and is on a mission to produce an energy-efficient e-transport option. The brand’s top bike has a top speed of 50 mph and an incredible range of 200 miles.

It’s also a brand with roots in Ukraine.

The US-Ukrainian startup has its head office in California but a large part of its team is located in the country currently being invaded by Russia in an unjust, brutal and devastating war.

Momentum caught up with the team spread in cities throughout the Eastern European country to see how they are doing. We cannot publish a photo of the team for safety reasons, but at this time, they are all okay.

How are you all and how many of you work in Ukraine?

The Delfast team is more or less fine now. We all (42 people) are staying in safe places, keep working as much as we can, and support our country.

What has it been like the last week?

Delfast is an American-Ukrainian startup, with its headquarters in California. But a huge part of our team is based all over Ukraine: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Cherkasy. So we experienced the Russian invasion in every Ukrainian part when it started on Feb 24.

During the next few days, all the team members focused on their safety. Especially, when it became clear that the Russian target to attack is Kyiv — the Ukrainian capital. Someone slept in the shelter, someone just could not sleep at all, evacuating their relatives, someone joined the Territorial Forces to defend the city.

Now we’re getting used to the new reality. Every morning we check in with each other on Slack. 
At the same time, it’s really devastating. Kyiv is the ‘hometown’ of our company, we have our office and RnD there. And to see how it is being ruined along with other cities is heartbreaking for all the team. 

Are you able to continue working and is there any word when it might stop?

To keep doing our jobs is the second main task after safety for the company from the very beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Because of COVID-19, we are used to working remotely.

Our engineers, staying in touch with the team members in the US, continue upgrading our Top 3.0 e-bike with the onboard PC and integrated app.

Our CEO Daniel Tonkopiy sends photos of people protesting in L.A. every day, reaches the international community, and shares awareness about the situation on his Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

We do not really know when it ends. But — as it’s stated on our website and social media — we are Ukrainian-built and Ukrainian-strong. And, as any responsible business in Ukraine, we’re supporting our country. Delfast donates 5% of all of our income to Ukrainian organizations to help stop the invasion. 

What can we do?

There are some good options on how to donate on this website Stop war in Ukraine. It also provides a clear picture of what’s going on here.