IJSP Number 6, 2024

120 groups for Ukrainian colleagues were organized, in which I either participated or translated for Ukrainians from English. I quickly noticed that Ukrainian colleagues were uncomfortable in the presence of foreign colleagues who could not fully share their experiences or be delicate enough in their statements to avoid triggering and re-traumatizing Ukrainian colleagues. Ukrainians couldn't be in the same group with Russians, regardless of the Russians' political or personal stance. By March, it became clear that all Ukrainian colleagues had left the international support groups. This was a difficult, shocking month, with the inconceivable happening – Russia's military attack on Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mariupol. Civilians fled in terror from the front-line zones. The media was filled with tragic stories of the sudden war. Ukraine was in chaos, confusion, and fear. By April, it became clear that Kyiv and Kharkiv would withstand, but Mariupol would fall. Some clarity emerged about what was happening and what could be done for self-defense and the defense of the country. All my Ukrainian psychologist acquaintances began volunteering for psychological support of Ukraine's civilian population. Some psychologists, with special clearance, worked with the military. I found myself in a difficult situation. I have been living in Israel since 2012, but I grew up, studied, and worked in Russia for most of my life. Before leaving Russia, we worked, studied, and upgraded our qualifications together with Ukrainian colleagues, without distinction of citizenship, in Russian. I was as friendly and worked with Ukrainian colleagues as with Russian ones. The 2014 military conflict between Russia and Ukraine was difficult for me; I did not quite understand what was happening. At first, I was sure it was some political misunderstanding. But the conflict continued, turned chronic, and froze in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine. We still maintained ties together – Russian and Ukrainian colleagues. But a cooling in relationships was noticeable. And so, February 24, 2022, confronted me with a choice. What could I do as a volunteer to alleviate the suffering of war? Professional support for Ukrainian colleagues seemed a good option. Despite our proficiency in Russian, I had to engage in cross-cultural supervision. I was already familiar with the phenomenon of international work with Ukrainian colleagues. For example, the article "Cross- Cultural Counselling Supervision in Ukraine" describes differences in legal, ethical, and cultural complexities that regulate and impact the supervisory relationship [1]. The authors recommended that potential supervisors in transnational supervision settings or programs "be screened to gauge commitment to the project, their multicultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, flexibility, and teachability." [1]. The International Association of Group Psychotherapy (IAGP) and PsyCrisis Ukraine offered me a supervisory role for an online group providing professional support to Ukrainian colleagues for 10 weekly meetings, and I agreed. Although I had previously worked as a supervisor for Ukrainian colleagues, I had doubts because I had never worked as a psychologist and/or