Uber announced on Thursday that it had resumed operations in Kyiv, signaling some semblance of a return to normalcy in Ukraine’s capital city weeks into Russia’s invasion of the country.
“In order to support the immediate recovery, Uber is not charging any fee on any trip, meaning that the full fare paid by riders will go directly to local drivers,” regional Uber manager Anabel Diaz said in a statement obtained by The Hill on Thursday.
“Uber is also donating 10,000 free trips to city government employees and other emergency workers providing essential relief services to the citizens of Kyiv,” Diaz added.
The statement from the company also noted that Uber was still operating in other Ukrainian cities including Lviv, Ternopil, Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi and Lutsk.
Uber also offers a program in Ukraine and Poland that provides free rides for Ukrainians to travel to the border, the company’s release added.
Since Moscow’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine began on Feb. 24, almost 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the war, according to the United Nation’s Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR).
However, that figure is likely “considerably higher”, the office said, given the difficulties and struggles of reporting the death toll in some of the more heavily attacked areas of the besieged country.