"No water, sugar, or preservatives." Families of veterans have established the production of freshly squeezed juices.

Veteran Yaroslav Kozachuk and his wife Kateryna opened "Sokarnya" in Khmelnytskyi—a company that produces natural juice from fruits and vegetables ordered by customers. This juice is pasteurized and packaged in special containers.

They received the idea and support from Vasyl Martyuk, a military man from Ternopil, and his wife, Maryana. This family has their own similar production and is developing a network of veteran breweries across Ukraine.

In the material LIGA.net — a story about how two families of veterans created a business that helps people return to life after the front and has the potential to scale up

Ready-to-drink juice

Dmytro from Khmelnytskyi became a regular customer of the juice press owned by Kateryna and Yaroslav Kozachuk in the summer of 2025. He repeatedly brought apples, carrots, pears, grapes, and pumpkins for processing. He says that his children enjoy drinking natural juices.

People bring fruits or vegetables, and the Kozachuk couple, along with their assistants, wash, chop, and press them. Then they extract the juice, pasteurize it, and pour it into Bag-in-Box or Super Pouch packaging. Up to a ton of raw materials are processed here per day.

"We provide a turnkey service: people bring the fruit and take away the pasteurized juice. No water, sugar or preservatives," explains Kateryna.

In the Khmelnytskyi region, Yaroslav and Kateryna are currently the only ones engaged in this type of processing. Another sawmill operates in the Ternopil region — it was opened by serviceman Vasyl Martyuk and his wife, Maryana. It was the Martyuk family who encouraged the Kozachuk family to start their own business and shared their experience.

Veteran network

From the first days of the full-scale invasion, Yaroslav Kozachuk fought as part of the Volunteer Ukrainian Corps (now the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade). He participated in battles for Kyiv region, Serebryanskyi forest, and Chasiv Yar.

After being discharged from service, the veteran spent a year at home. He says he didn't want to do anything – he just sat in his apartment most of the time.

Then a friend from Ternopil called – a farmer and military man, Vasyl Martyuk. He was the first to open a co-working space in his city and wanted to scale up the idea.

Martyuk volunteered for the front in 2014. After demobilization, he received two hectares of land as a combat veteran, founded the "Fama" farm, and began to develop it. In 2022, he returned to the military, so his wife, Maryana, took care of the farm and came up with the name "Sokarnya".

The couple came up with the idea to create a direct-press juice production facility in 2017. In 2024, they received a grant from the Ukrainian Veterans Fund and were able to put their plan into action.

"I know Yaroslav and Kateryna through 'Plast'. We saw their motivation and willingness to take on the task seriously," says Vasyl.

The cider mill in Khmelnytskyi opened in September 2025. It operates in partnership with the one in Ternopil – together they essentially form the first veteran cider mill network in Ukraine.

The economic basis for the idea.

The Kozachuk couple applied to the "Worth Acting" program from the Ukrainian Veteran Fund and received 1.5 million UAH from the fund and 100,000 UAH from the company Kernel. With this money, they purchased a washer and a press, and bought the rest of the equipment themselves.

"We relied on the experience of Vasyl and Maryana. They still advise us – on documents, technology, reports," says Kateryna.

Vasyl adds that due to the high cost of equipment, both families invested their own resources. Currently, his wife, Maryana, who coordinates the work of the Ternopil mill, provides the main consulting support to the Khmelnytskyi mill.

"She is currently taking care of the development. And this is also part of the veteran story – the wives of soldiers take on no less than we do," says Vasyl.

Khmelnytskyi and Ternopil regions are among the main fruit-growing regions of Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and the Kyiv School of Economics (2023), apples account for almost 60% of all fruit and berry production there, and the yield in the Khmelnytskyi region exceeds 21 tons per hectare. This creates a strong base for processing.

Therefore, the "bring-and-take" model used by juice bars may take root here: many orchards, a temperate climate, and the demand for natural juice can make this business stable and promising.

"Juice for the Front" and Serving Others

In Sokaryany, there is an initiative called "Juice for the Front." Anyone who brings fruit can leave some for the military – it is processed, packaged, and sent to the defenders. Others contribute with donations: the money goes towards packaging and delivery.

Currently, the Kozachuk family is working to complete all stages of the grant and plans to officially hire an employee. Their next goal is to launch a line for tomato juice and glass bottling.

For Vasyl Martyuk, this business is not just a way to earn money, but a continuation of his service. He wants similar veteran workshops to appear in different regions and help others — just as they helped the Kozachuk family.