Ribas Hotels Group Joins “New Start” Project for Veterans

Ribas Hotels Group has joined the “New Start” social project – a partnership between business and veterans with limb amputations who are returning to civilian life. The project’s initiator is Mark Marchenko, CEO and founder of SENSAR Development and a partner of Artur Lupashko. Artur Lupashko, founder of Ribas Hotels Group, has now joined the project himself, becoming a mentor to veteran Daniil Melnyk.

The idea behind the project is simple: an entrepreneur becomes a mentor to a veteran for one year. This is not a one-time act but a systematic, conscious presence in a person’s life – the mentor shares time, experience, and useful contacts, and also provides material support: from covering basic needs such as treatment and prosthetics to helping the veteran’s family.

Daniil Melnyk is 24 years old. In February 2022, right after graduating from a military academy, he went to defend Kyiv and was caught in an ambush in the Bucha district. He was severely wounded, taken prisoner, and underwent numerous surgeries and prosthetic fittings. “The main thing is that I’m alive,” he says today. Despite everything he has been through, Daniil retains a strong character and plans for the future: together with his brother, he wants to start a construction business that would employ veterans, and he dreams of running prosthetics worth $12,000 that would allow him to return to sports and his beloved football.

After several months of online communication, Artur Lupashko invited Daniil to Odesa to meet in person and relax by the sea. Conversations about plans and next steps continued not over video calls, but over coffee and walks around the city.

“Ukrainian business can no longer exist separately from the country and the people defending it. Sometimes a single act of support or a single opportunity can change the trajectory of a person’s life. As they say, whoever saves one life saves the entire world,” says Artur Lupashko.