# Story

> A border crossing at Siret closed and nobody knew why. Noam Avivi, founder of Witness, on the night that started the company, with photos from the crossing.

In November 2025 I was crossing on foot from Ukraine into Romania at Siret. The crossing closed. No announcement, no explanation. The soldiers standing at the barrier did not know why either. Everyone waited.

A day later I read that a Russian drone had struck the Orlivka crossing the night of the 21st. That was the answer, and it took a day to reach people who had been standing at the border when it happened.

The near miss is not the story. The gap is. Hundreds of people were inside an event and outside the information about it, and that information existed the entire time. It had nowhere structured to go.

> Everyone at that border was inside the event and outside the information. That gap is the company.

Witness is the structure.

## Photos

- Siret crossing · Night of 21 Nov 2025: Night at the Siret crossing: two people step around a flooded road beside buses and a fence. Photo: Noam Avivi.
- Entry stamp · 22.11.25: Ukrainian entry stamp dated 22.11.25 in a passport. Photo: Noam Avivi.
- The border by day: The Ukraine border sign by day behind a green fence. Photo: Noam Avivi.

By [Noam Avivi](https://www.thewitnessapp.com/about/noam-avivi), founder of Witness.

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Web page: https://www.thewitnessapp.com/story
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