Updated Young Business Club position

The incident that happened on October 26, unacceptable from our side, raised many questions in society that go beyond the scope of this situation. We've collected all the inquiries we've received and frankly answered each of them.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE SITUATION

During the Young Business Club event on October 26, where the head of the Angels of Azov patronage service Elena Tolkacheva was scheduled to speak, one of the participants, whose identity we are currently investigating, approached our manager. He was allegedly "scared" by the uniform of the military. The reaction of our manager was a request to "Azov Angels" to move to a table in another part of the hall. Was this a normal reaction? No. This is inadequate.

The club management immediately intervened in the situation. Our managing partner called Elena and apologized sincerely. After that, the Young Business Club management admitted the mistake publicly and published an apology to the club on our official pages.

We are currently conducting an internal investigation to find out who exactly addressed the organizing committee with this "request". A further compatible path with these people is impossible for us, since we have opposite values. We will inform you about the results of the investigation later.

Public indignation was and is fully justified. Responsibility for the disrespectful words spoken by the head of the patronage service of "Angels of Azov" Olena Tolkachova lies with the club's management. We want to emphasize again, these actions do not reflect the opinion of all YBC members. Among the members of the club are businessmen who, since February 24, personally defend our country with weapons in their hands. Most of us have friends or relatives who defend our independence and risk their lives so that we can all work and support the country's economy. Our respect for them is boundless.

We assure you with all responsibility that since last Thursday we have carried out meaningful work on errors:

• Mistake #1:
  The Young Business Club did not conduct sufficient communication of the team with the military in order to form the right attitude towards the military and understand their needs. This short-sightedness caused this incident.
• Mistake #2
  Young Business Club did not hold regular meetings with military experts, war veterans and military personnel. This interaction would help prevent a similar comment from a club member.
• Mistake #3
  Club members collected more than UAH 8 million in donations at joint auctions, and the total personal assistance of our members is more than UAH 200 million. The mistake was that we hardly covered this social activity in the public sphere.

POSITION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CLUB AND SHAREHOLDERS

• Young Business Club is a Ukrainian community of businessmen. Our club was created by Ukrainians and its ultimate beneficiaries are only citizens of Ukraine. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, we have announced a detailed and structured position, which is recorded on our official website, regarding the inadmissibility of any connections of club members with the Russian Federation.
• Clubs in other countries of the world, which did not accept the official position of our community, left the YBC. The Young Business Club brands in London, Dubai and Uzbekistan ceased to exist in the spring of 2022. All legal ties with them are terminated.
• From February 24, 2022, Andriy Ostapchuk has no joint activities with people related to the aggressor country. YBC in London, one of the CEOs of which was Serhii Archakov, is closed. Legal and physical ties with him have also been severed. Andriy Ostapchuk did not have and does not have any other business relations with citizens or residents of the Russian Federation.
• Andrii has differences of opinion with his wife Evgenia Gordienko. He considers the situation with the Russian blogger, which happened in the spring of 2023, unacceptable. Due to differences in views, Mr. Andrii has difficulties in his relationship with his wife, which he is currently not ready to comment on publicly in more detail.
• The personal position of Andrii Ostapchuk and all other shareholders of the club has always been, is and will be completely pro-Ukrainian

*Additionally, we attach documents confirming our words of reference‍

KEY CHANGES IN YOUNG BUSINESS CLUB

The situation that happened is an impetus for the management of the Young Business Club to review the policy of the club. Two meetings were held on Monday to develop new YBC rules. On the basis of which it was decided to update the Principles of the Club and add important new ones:

THE PRINCIPLE OF GRATITUDE TO THE MILITARY

• Showing respect and thanking military personnel at YBC public events. It is pronounced by raising the whole hall from the seats and applause when a military man enters or leaves the stage, a minute of silence for fallen comrades
• Dictionary of prohibited words/phrases that cannot be used when communicating with the military
• Employment program for veterans
• Business mentoring program for veterans

PRINCIPLE OF TRANSPARENCY

• Full public reporting of the club's actions based on the example of large foreign companies implementing sustainable development
• Communication of corporate social responsibility projects of YBC and individual members of the club

Expanded and updated list of actions in the direction of CHARITY AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

• Creation of the club program "Adaptation of civilians" (How to behave as a civilian next to a military man)
  - trainings for YBC participants on correct and ethical communication with the military
  - joint events of the participants and the military
• Patronage assistance to humanitarian and social programs: physical and psychological rehabilitation of military personnel, etc
• Creation of a list of short-term and long-term social initiatives of club members