Social media post shines light on emergency evacuation efforts

A former Apple employee has publicly thanked the company and CEO Tim Cook for their assistance in helping employees and their families in the city of Kharkiv to evacuate when Russia's invasion of the country encroached on the northeastern Ukrainian city.

Katrin Rezykova, who was previously at Apple as an engineer and developer, noted in a tweet on X.com on October 25th that she had "never told" the story of how Apple evacuated her and her grandmother, among others, from Kharkiv. She said in her post that Apple had "hired security contractors — translators, drivers, everything" to aid in the evacuation.

Calling the story "very internal and not for the press," Rezykova also showed an undated email from Apple CEO Tim Cook, a follow-up after she had let Cook and others at Apple know the evacuation was successful. In his reply, Cook expressed thanks for the confirmation, and added "Please give your Grandmother my best."

After making the brief story public, she also thanked others who commented on her post for their "kind words and support." Rezykova added that she had recently spoken to her grandmother about the warm response.

"We had a nostalgic moment on the phone remembering that week," she said. "We are very happy as a family that she got to safety," adding that the posting of the tale was meant only to publicly express her gratitude. "It's not affiliation or promotion of Apple in any way," Rezykova added.

I've never told how much @Apple did to help evacuate my grandmother from the hell that was happening in Kharkiv in 2023. They hired security contractors to get people out. The level of coordination on the ground and online was insane— translators, drivers, everything. Grateful. pic.twitter.com/6Uok3MiIpS
— kate (@whoiskatrin) October 25, 2024

Other global companies have found themselves in similar positions when it comes to protecting or evacuating employees from war-torn areas or natural disasters. Security firm Global Guardian told the Financial Times in 2022 that it had evacuated "over 4,000" employees, many from US and European Fortune 500 companies, out of Ukraine.

Another Apple employee, Steph Kreske, confirmed in the comments to Rezykova's post that the company routinely assists employees and their families caught in large-scale emergencies. Kreske noted that during some previous hurricanes in Florida and Texas, Apple engaged "a special team to get a gentlemen evacuated who worked from home and was disabled."

"They hired a team specifically to go get him and drive him out of Florida before the hurricane hit," addig that they paid for his hotel stays in a different state and "brought him home after" the emergency had passed.

"I will always have so much respect for Apple and the way the rally around their people during their hardest times," she added.