Ukrainians are accustomed to going without. 

Many areas suffer from frequent power cuts, water supplies can be interrupted and many homes lie in ruins. However, bread is an essential, so bakeries have continued to operate even in the most difficult conditions.

The Nakhlebnyk Bakery in Kharkiv gave up baking cakes and luxuries for a year to produce only bread to sustain local people - without charging them. Now operations have expanded again but with a smaller workforce - just a third of the size it was before the conflict with Russia began.

Owner Olga Leonova says electricity and energy costs account for 60 percent of turnover, with staff costs and ingredients added.

"This is wrong from the point of view of running a business," she observes.

Another cost the bakery has faced is clearing up the damage from bombs landing near the apartment block where it is located.

But her dilemma, and her persistence, are emblematic of a city which once thrived as a tech hub with more than 500 companies employing more than 50,000 software engineers.

Olexii Ievsiukov set up his business Avex making sport and swimwear five years ago, and despite the challenges has plans to grow.

To overcome problems with intermittent energy supply he uses underground pipes to bring cool air into the building and has installed solar panels. When those aren't enough, he's wired up a Tesla battery to ensure that even on the darkest days he can continue to operate.

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