back to article Ukraine's IT sector looks to business continuity plans as Russia invades

The Ukrainian tech industry is invoking business continuity plans after 150,000 Russian troops began a military invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, crossing its borders and bombing military targets near big cities. Russian warship crosses the Bosphorus A Russian Navy ship crosses the Bosphorus in November 2021. Ukraine this …

  1. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Well it's kind of difficult to tell everone to relocate to another country, right ?

      Although that's what might end up happening anyway.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        More likely the country will relocate beneath their feet.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Don't just criticize.

      Your post comes across that the companies should keep the roles in a war zone and have a zero tolerance policy on people unable to make it to their desks each day.

      I assume (hopefully not wrongly) that they will assist their staff and their families in the relocation. Rather than criticizing companies that are offering their staff temporary relocation (even if they are not covering costs, which I hope they are), what would you suggest?

      I'm sure some people would want to leave the country completely, however I'm quite sure that many wouldn't. How many countries have been in the news lately offering temporary employment visa's so companies can relocate their people outside of Ukraine without going through the standard paperwork?

      1. Jellied Eel Silver badge

        Re: Don't just criticize.

        Yup, that's the problem. AFAIK, Ukrainians that leave the country would be refugees, and not necessarily able to work. Adds a layer of complexity to BC planning, ie arranging DR staff accommodation and visas so staff can move along with the data.

        1. EvilGardenGnome

          Re: Don't just criticize.

          IIRC, Ukranians have access to a four-week, no visa period in Europe. After that, though, all bets are off.

          1. Alan Brown Silver badge

            Re: Don't just criticize.

            That's a visitor period, not a working one.

            1. DS999 Silver badge

              Re: Don't just criticize.

              If you're "working from home", where that "home" may be a hotel room or house of a friend/relative, how will the EU know you are "working"? Hard to see why the EU should care if someone enters and works a job they already had prior to arriving. That's not taking away a job from an EU resident, unless you count "person in war torn country unable to work, job opens up for remote worker in the EU", which would be a pretty heartless way of looking things.

        2. Stork Silver badge

          Re: Don't just criticize.

          Portugal has stated Ukrainians are welcome. There are a lot already, and they have a good reputation.

      2. Nifty Silver badge

        Re: Don't just criticize.

        "How many countries have been in the news lately offering temporary employment visa.."

        Template is the UK with Hong Kong.

      3. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: Don't just criticize.

        Ireland, Poland, and Slovakia have all waived visas and that's just what I've read without actively looking for this information.

        However the UK still offers no legal route for Ukrainian refugees. So once again, the UK offers little more apart from nice words aimed at its domestic audience.

    3. Chris G

      It would seem that people who are actually there, have reasonable confidence that Russia will stick to it's stated aim of securing the breakaway regions within their traditional borders.

      Aside from trashing as much military infrastructure as possible throughout Ukraine.

      1. First Light

        But the so-called "traditional" borders contain significant amounts of Ukrainian territory. So there's no way to minimize what will be an ugly war with civilian casualties, as is already happening.

        Remember that despite the Russian narrative of Crimea as historically Russian, the area was originally populated almost entirely by Crimean Tatars, a Turkic Muslim people. Russian settler colonization began in the mid-nineteenth century and has been entirely successful. The Tatars are now a persecuted minority in their own country.

        We are now in the neo-imperial era of Tsar Vladimir and his irredentist delusions.

        1. Alan Brown Silver badge

          > Russian settler colonization began in the mid-nineteenth century and has been entirely successful.

          A similar thing applies for Russian claims to Ukraine. If you want to invoke a couple of hundred or more years ago, why not go the whole hog and let Poland state its claim to the area under Wenslas circa 950AD?

      2. doublelayer Silver badge

        They have made significant moves to imply they're taking more than that. If they didn't, the land they said they were going to take contains more than the land controlled by separatists. If they did just take the land controlled by separatists, they are still committing an act of war with bombings elsewhere. And even if they did none of that, they have no right to take any land whatsoever.

        Whether you are correct or not, it doesn't justify anything. While I am not an expert on Ukrainian military maneuvers, I also doubt that Russia's claims can be at all believed given the constant stream of lies we've seen so far.

      3. Old Used Programmer

        Nice idea but...

        Events are showing that to be an excessively optimistic scenario. Putin is clearly interested in overthowing the Ukrainian government. All of it.

      4. Insert sadsack pun here

        "Russia will stick to it's stated aim of securing the breakaway regions within their traditional borders."

        What kind of credulous idiot buys this bullshit even after Russian paratroopers land in Kyiv? Putin says Russia's traditional borders contain Ukraine in its entirety.

        1. Jellied Eel Silver badge

          You could also argue Ukraine has claims to Russia, given Kiev used to be it's capital prior to that relocating to Moscow. But that's history, and European nation's borders were frequently redrawn over the last 500 years. Problem is cartography often ignores ethnic differences, eg when the UK decided to partition India. Or the (re)creation of Ukraine following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

          But basically a clusterfunk that's now become foreign policy by other means. I'm a bit suprised Russia's gone for full-scale invasion though. I'd expected Russia to move it's 'peace keepers' into Donbass & force Ukraine and it's allies back to implementing Minsk. Instead, it seems to be going for decapitation and regime change along the lines of Libya. I guess one outcome could be restoring Donbass's territory, or maybe partitioning Ukraine along the Dnieper river.

      5. TheMeerkat

        We need to remember that Sudetenland was a “historical part of Austria-Hungarian Empire” too. Together with all “historically German” parts of Poland Hitler demanded.

    4. This post has been deleted by its author

  2. Cederic Silver badge

    keeping it to the tech

    I hope for survival and successful resolution for the people impacted by this invasion and won't share my strong views on the matter.

    Professionally, we've already discussed the IT implications of military action that makes data centres non-viable, and with a workforce already geographically spread and not dependent on office locations (thanks covid) BCP is surprisingly straightforward these days. Nonetheless, glad we're not having to prove that.

    1. EvilGardenGnome

      Re: keeping it to the tech

      "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

      It's in moments like these that we must be loud, vocal, and clear.

      I stand with a free, independent Ukraine.

      1. wolfetone Silver badge

        Re: keeping it to the tech

        "It's in moments like these that we must be loud, vocal, and clear.

        I stand with a free, independent Ukraine."

        The thing is, being loud vocal and clear only works if the bully is listening. And like most bullies, he's not listening.

        They only hear you when you kick them in the balls. Repeatedly. Until they bleed.

        1. EvilGardenGnome

          Re: keeping it to the tech

          I like this plan. It's a good plan. Let's do it.

      2. Alumoi Silver badge

        Re: keeping it to the tech

        Also bring your guns and ammo.

        Si vis pace para bellum

    2. wheelbearing

      Re: keeping it to the tech

      Could a Ukranian government in exile keep control of their country level domain, and operate online at least, from somewhere outside the country?

      Don't our US chums retain control at that level?

      1. Nifty Silver badge

        Re: keeping it to the tech

        That's an interesting point which plays into ideas such as James Dale Davidson's The Sovereign Individual and Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash. What if physical and (fiat money) fiscal domination becomes irrelevant while digital and knowledge becomes the new power?

        The tanks can roll in, the oligarchs can install themselves, just to discover that there's water everywhere, and not a drop for them to drink.

      2. Jellied Eel Silver badge

        Re: keeping it to the tech

        Hmm. Probably. I guess the country TLD could remain with a government in exile, if there's no international recognition of any new government. But that would be largely symbolic. I guess there's also scope to balkanise the Internet, and de-peer Russian AS's and sanction Russia offline. But that would obviously also make it harder to conduct psyops against Russia.

  3. Snowy Silver badge

    Yes Prime Minister - Salami Tactics and Nuclear Deterrent

    Yes Prime Minister - Salami Tactics and Nuclear Deterrent

    The tactic is still the same https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o861Ka9TtT4

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