Ukraine’s IT sector is booming despite Russian aggression. Workers with stickers on their laptops sit on beach chairs outside a warehouse for a start-up in the western Ukraine city of Lviv, which gives off major Silicon Valley vibes.
But the atmosphere inside is different.
Through the glass doors of campus, young Ukrainians zig-zag between piles of bulletproof vests and cardboard boxes full of helmets ready for the front.
They are part of Ukraine’s growing technological sector that was forced to adapt after the Russian invasion and has become vital to supporting the war effort.
“Most tech companies had developed contingency plans in case of war”, said Stefan Veselovsky, head of the “IT Cluster Lviv” community.
He told AFP that before Russia’s invasion on February 24 the companies moved servers to safer locations and installed back-up systems outside the country.
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When the Russian bombings began, IT companies closed offices in the capital Kyiv and the eastern city of Kharkiv, and engineers found refuge in western Ukraine or Poland.
Veselovsky said that there were already about 500 tech companies in Lviv before the war, but it is now estimated that 80 percent of the area is in the western city.
One is Infopulse, which mainly provides various digital services to European customers.
It brought 300 of its 2,300 employees to Lviv, where it has offices in one of the city’s few bunker-equipped buildings.
Bunk beds and stable internet are underground so that workers can continue to work in the event of an airstrike.
There are also generators in the case of targeting Russian military power stations and terminals for Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service.
“Even under the harshest conditions, business can continue,” said regional manager Ivan Korzov.
They can also thrive.
Ukraine Tech Army
Since the start of the war, Infopulse has gained four new customers and in April – the second month of the Russian offensive – created 25 new jobs Ukraine,
It is not the only tech company in Ukraine to do so.
Veselovsky says that February – when Russia attacked – was a historically good month for Ukraine’s tech sector and its estimated 200,000 employees.
“It slowed down a bit in March, but we are very optimistic for the future because the war doesn’t stop us from growing,” he said.
This is in stark contrast to other industries battered by invasion. Exports of traditional sectors such as steel and agriculture have declined.
But the technical sector, naturally, has not been affected by the destruction of bridges, roads or blockade of ports.
According to Veselovsky, it has earned more than $2 billion since the start of the war and has become the country’s leading exporter.
“This is a good thing for Ukraine because we generate income in dollars every month when the country really needs it,” Korzov said.
“We pay our taxes and give a lot of money to the government”.
IT cluster Lviv has already allocated $2 million, mainly to purchase equipment for Ukrainian troops.
In this way its offices started to look like army depots.
This sector has also offered its best to help the army.
Softserve – one of Ukraine’s largest tech companies – has worked on military websites for free and the IT cluster Lviv has modernized one of the army’s command centers.
Infopulse also participates in a joint project by the Ukrainian Army and the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
“Experts in technology and cyber security work with the government on the information front,” said Korzov, its regional manager.
Then he repeated a popular slogan in Ukraine: “We are not waiting for peace, but for victory.”
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.