Ukrainian Developers Refuse to Stop Working Despite Bombings

Ukraine is one of the leading countries in Europe when it comes to IT outsourcing. When Russia declared a "special military operations" on Feb. 24, many Ukrainian constituents rushed to flee the conflict. However, numerous Ukrainian developers refused to leave the country.

Businesses in the United States and Europe have voiced their respect for their Ukraine-based developers as major cities across Ukraine have been ravaged by attacks that have left buildings in shattered rubble.

Ukrainian Developers

Ukraine has a population of 44 million residents, most of which are trying to flee the country as refugees. It is home to a large community of software developers who work from home for companies all over the United States and Europe, as well as other countries.

Ukrainian citizens living throughout the country are now being forced to defend their homes and cities while taking cover from Russian bombing raids.

However, it is also noted that numerous Ukrainian citizens refuse to leave. A lot of Ukrainians stayed to fight for their country and help their fellow men. Among those who chose to stay were Ukrainian developers.

Employers of these Ukrainian developers are in awe of their dedication as they can still send deliverables despite the strong military presence surrounding them.

CNBC stated that numerous developers are holding arms contributing to local defense efforts by the day and submitting work deliverables by night.

This is what Logan Bender, the chief financial officer of a San Francisco-based software licensing company, said in a story that was posted on Instagram on Tuesday, "Yes our teams are sending deliverables from a f-ing parking garage in Kharkiv under heavy shelling and gunfire in the area. Amazing humans".

Ukrainians are Prolific Python Contributors

Python is a programming language that is extensively used for online and software development, task automation, data analysis, and data visualization.

The programming language is open source, which means anyone can use or distribute it. It is maintained by a community of developers. Some of these core developers of python are Ukrainians living in Ukraine.

Numerous prolific python developers decided to stay in the country.

An example is Andrew Svetlov, another well-known Python developer who specializes in asynchronous networking support. Svetlov lives in Kyiv where the Russian troops are surrounding the city.

In addition, Ukrainian developer Serhiy Storchaka, the second-most prolific recent contributor to Python and the tenth-most prolific contributor to the language overall, decided to stay in the country. Storchaka lives in northeastern Ukraine outside Konotop city.

Both Kyiv and Konotop are also surrounded by Russian military forces. Storchaka tweeted on Feb. 26, stating that he will soon find himself in a Russian military zone since tanks are just 2 km away from their house.

However, as the military crisis grew worse, the Python developer community came together to assist Storchaka's younger family members.

One of which is fellow developer Łukasz Langa. Langa was able to secure temporary housing for Storchaka's niece and best friend, both of whom are 11 years old, after communicating with their family through Google Translate.

The little kids were able to cross the border to Poland through a bus with their mother and met Langa. Langa aided the family with help and drove over 300 kilometers to Warsaw to pick up keys and purchase basic necessities for the family.

Last Tuesday, March 1, Storchaka tweeted that "Two little 11-year-old girls (my niece and her best friend) are now safe thanks to @llanga My sister and I are immensely grateful."

Business Insider reported that both Svetlov and Storchaka have no plans in fleeing the country.

It is also reported that Langa expressed his worry about the escalation of conflict in the neighboring countries.