It took us a moment to realize, as Russian tanks invaded our country, that we – the Ukrainian tech community – would fight on a second front in this unprovoked and illegal war. The second front in the fight for Ukraine freedom from Russian oppression is an economic front.
At first, there was this sense akin to survivor's guilt, working our day jobs as so many of our fellow Ukrainians blocked Russian assaults. Now we realize that we’re helping fuel the war effort and each dollar we earn helps strengthen the Ukrainian economy.
Just logging into work becomes an act of defiance, resilience, and strength in the face of nightly artillery barrages. Work also offers us a rare respite from a 24/7 reality of invasion. Colleagues have even requested extra work since the war, asking for more hours as a way to keep their minds off of the difficult situation.
While remaining operational and continuing to provide the highest level of service for our clients is important to us, safety for our entire team and their families is a top priority. We’ve organized four buses out of the country for families and women who choose to leave, and have provided relocation options for team members and their families. We’ve moved dozens of team members from the eastern parts of Ukraine to western Ukraine. We support our team members ready to fight on the front lines, as well as those who stay in Ukraine participating in volunteer efforts.
In a recent call with other Ukrainian business leaders, we were shocked and dismayed to learn that many businesses in our country have closed shop and have stopped paying their employees. The Ukrainian Minister of Finance said that in the fourth week of war, nearly a third of Ukraine’s economy is no longer functioning at its previous capacity. However, due to our diligent and eager teams and well-crafted contingency plans - even during the war - we are still open for business and growing.
Our Ukrainian and global tech teams still collaborate daily with clients to build and maintain some of the most used apps, software, and websites. We’re maintaining our country’s position as a global tech leader and bringing money into the Ukrainian economy to support families, friends, colleagues, the military and our beloved country. We’re just a sliver of a vital Ukrainian tech community that helps lead global innovation and we’re not stopping. Supporting us now means not abandoning us.
All our clients have thankfully maintained their contracts, but we know of other tech firms here in Ukraine who have lost clients and had contracts paused due to the conflict. We ask international companies to maintain contracts inside Ukraine and support our leading-edge tech community as we fight against Russia. We ask people to #SupportUkraineTech and most of all, believe in us. We see a future that’s beyond our present. It’s a future of peace and prosperity. But first, we must go to our front in this war. We must win and for that, we need you.
