With Ukraine Independence Day approaching this Sunday, August 24th, Tony Garner, MD of Rawtenstall agency Viva, caught up with Julia Petryk, a Kyiv-based PR who is still plying her trade in the Ukrainian capital as the bombs fall around her, for the PR in the Real World podcast. He shares his the experience with Prolific North here.
“I was on a Teams call with Ukrainian PR professional Julia Petryk from her apartment in Kyiv. We were discussing her potential appearance on our PR podcast when sirens started wailing in the background. Incoming Russian drones.
I froze. When I listen back to the recording you can hear the nerves in my voice. Should we end the call? Was she safe?
Julia glanced toward her window where a small cat — one she’d adopted at the start of the war — was fast asleep in the sunshine, completely ignoring the sirens.
“She has an innate sense about real danger,” she told me. “If she’s still sleeping, we’re okay to continue.”
That cat. That siren. It suddenly woke me up. Three years of headlines had told me one thing. That siren made it real. Too often war is just something we scroll past on our phones or catch on the morning news. But it’s happening to people exactly like us. Professionals in our industry.
Of course we recorded the podcast. It tells Julia’s story about living and working in Kyiv under constant threat of attack. Not from a report, or spokesperson or politician, but from someone whose life was simply turned upside down by forces beyond her control.
Julia Petryk is one of us. She is a communications professional who found herself at the centre of one of the most significant wars of our time. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, she could have fled. Instead, she took action in the way she knew best.
Within hours of the invasion, Julia founded the PR Army – a network of communications experts working to amplify Ukrainian voices globally, counter
disinformation, and ensure the truth reached the world. What started as an instinctive response has grown into a vital resource connecting international media with authentic Ukrainian stories.
“We realised immediately that this wasn’t just a military conflict,” Julia explains in our conversation. “It was an information war. And we had the skills to fight it.”
The PR Army represents something remarkable in our profession: the power of communications to serve something greater than client objectives or campaign
metrics. It’s about truth, survival, and the fundamental human need to be heard.
Life During War Time Julia paints a moving picture of the “half-life” she and her family have endured – caught between normal professional responsibilities and the constant backdrop of war.
Client calls interrupted by air raid sirens. Strategy sessions. Sleeping in a car. The surreal normality of checking whether it’s safe to continue a meeting based on a cat’s behaviour.
Yet throughout our conversation, what strikes me most is Julia’s unwavering commitment to her work and her country. She speaks with the quiet determination of someone who has found purpose in the most challenging circumstances.
Julia’s story has had a profound impact on me . To be honest it has left me with more questions than answers right now. How do we support colleagues in crisis regions? What responsibility do we have to amplify voices that might otherwise be silenced? How can our industry’s skills serve humanitarian causes?
Her answer is simple: “Show support, keep showing support, and keep showing the people of Ukraine that you care.”
So, that’s what I’m doing. If you need inspiration, listen to or watch Julia’s conversation with me. We set up our podcast “PR in the Real World.” To shine a light
on the industry’s unsung heroes. In that sense Julia makes the perfect guest.
I urge my fellow PR and communications professionals to take an hour from their busy schedules to listen to Julia’s full story on our podcast “PR in the Real World.” It goes live on Tuesday.
Because sometimes the most important conversations happen between sirens, with a sleeping cat as our guide to what courage actually looks like.
Julia Petryk is a hero in my eyes. When Russia invaded her country, she stayed to fight in the best way she could. I’m not sure I’d be as brave.
But I can share her story. And so can you.”
The full interview with Julia Petryk is available on PR in the Real World podcast on YouTube, Spotify and Apple.
