Picture: At this beautiful place we conducted the interview.
As part of our trip to Ukraine in July 2026, we visited the CP3-2 housing project in Odesa. The old ship repair factory is located in the heart of Odesa at the Black Sea. The industrial port and huge hotels are all within a hand reach. The building itself is dilapidated in many places and damp from rainwater. Before our trip, we raised money and purchased roofing felt to repair the roof. The project has been self-organized for many years, and the residents design and manage the space autonomously. There are private bedrooms, a shared bathroom, common areas, workshops, and an outdoor kitchen in the summer. About nine vegan activists live here permanently.
Among them Andrii. He also talks about life in the house and what it means to him. In addition, he tells us more about his work at SAD (Street Aid Daily) and a little bit about his art.
Question: Hi, can you briefly introduce yourself?
Andrii: Hi, I’m Andrii. I’m from Odesa. I make art, all kinds of art. And I’m an activist.
Question: What does CP3-2 mean to you?
Andrii: My whole life, I’ve always felt like a stray. I was always running from one place to the next, and there was no place where I felt at home. Now, in a way, this place is my home.
Question: And what does it mean to be at home here?
Andrii: It’s nice to have a place where you feel a little more at ease than in other places. I can be myself here. And it’s cool not to be alone. There are a lot of people here who think similarly to me, and sometimes they cook for me, or we cook together and eat together. And that’s how this sense of community develops.
Question: How many people live here? And how do people end up here?
Andrii: Usually, there are 8–9 people living here permanently. But there are also people who only stay here temporary, for some period of time. For example, because they come to work or spend the summer here. So in the summer, it’s generally more crowded, and then there are about 15–16 of us.
Question: And what do you do in the house?
Andrii: Well, there are chores that need to be done, like cooking and cleaning up. More or less the same people usually take care of those. And there are also activities around the house. I just help out with those. We have this initiative called SAD, Street Aid Daily, where we help homeless people. I’m very active in that.
For example, we pack bags with essential items they need, like sleeping bags, food, hygiene products, and so on, and then hand them out. Some of this work also takes place right here in the house. I paint and make art with the people, we have materials here for that, too.
Question: Can you tell us a little more about the initiative? What’s the work like, and what are the people you support like?
Andrii: The distribution drives we organize take place every Sunday near the train station.
It just happened that way because a lot of homeless people gather there, and other volunteers are also handing out food and other items. We distribute things necessary for every day use,for example, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and mats to sleep on. Cigarettes are also important, they’re absolutely essential! We can’t distribute medications, because we don’t have a permit for that.
The people we help are homeless people from Odesa, but also many people who have come to Odesa because of the war, and people who aren’t necessarily homeless but are living in precarious circumstances, for example, because they had to flee.
And just a quick return to the art I create with the people. Often, people aren’t really in the mood, and I have to motivate them first.
I’m an artist myself, which is why I do this, but what we also do is, when cool images emerge, we print them on T-shirts or make prints of them and sell them. That’s how we fund our work.
And in a way, it’s about finding a common language through actions like these, rather than just handing out something and then leaving. It just takes a while. But it also gives people a little emotional support when you build a relationship with them, give them a hug now and then, because they often just feel like crap and are sad, and that can help, too.
Yeah, I think that’s what I can say about SAD.
Question: Okay. So, back to CP3-2 as a place. For me, this place is very special. We can see the sea. We’re right next to the habour, fancy hotels, in the middle of Odesa. How is it that this place exists right here?
Andrii: Somehow. So yeah, it’s a special place; it’s been around for about five or six years, and the fact that it exists here like this is pure luck. It’s a little unclear why we’re still able to stay here, but that’s how it is. And that’s despite the fact that, from a normative perspective, we might be considered dirty, messy people. Usually, places like this are bought by someone and then just fall into disrepair. And for some reason, that’s not the case here. Well, and in a way, we’re also living here in a kind of escapism, in our little separate space that’s cut off from the capitalist world. And within that we try to exist and somehow get by.
Question: How do you discuss the war here in your collective or in the community?
Andrii: When we talk about the war, we do so with a lot of irony, because there’s really no other way to do it. We have a lot of people here who are in the army, who are about to join the army, or who have been in the army, and others, too. It’s clear to all of us that a lot of shit goes on in the army, and we talk about that and make jokes. We don’t make that many jokes about the Russians who are attacking us, but we do make jokes about the missiles and the drones. There’s no other way to cope with it. We sit here in the house and hear the noise of airstrikes. It’s just terrible. And then we try to get rid of the fear with our jokes.
Question: Yes, I asked because you said at the beginning that you actually want to leave Ukraine because the war is so exhausting. On the other hand, we know that many people have also decided to join the army. And I was wondering, when you talk about this, is it okay that people have different positions on the matter and make different decisions?
Andrii: For me, it’s like this: I’ve decided I don’t want to take part in this war, because I feel that I can’t fight in it in a way that achieves something for myself, but rather for the Ukrainian authorities. And I owe them absolutely nothing. I’ve struggled with my own personal problems my whole life. My mother also fought against this system for a long time, and we had a lot of problems. It’s kind of like running away, and it’s hard to come to terms with that, but that’s the decision I’ve made for myself.
Within the group, there are different viewpoints on this issue, but my position is accepted there as well. And especially the people who fought and who were in the army, are very understanding about it, because they know it’s really tough. I don’t get treated with hostility or anything like that because of it.
Question: Thank you very much! Would you like to say anything else to wrap things up?
Andrii: We live in a cruel world and we’re really deep in the shit, but hopefully the future will be really awesome!
We will start our next trip in October 2026.
We will stop by Odesa again, but we will also travel to Kharkiv to provide humanitarian aid.
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