Coding Amid War: Online Gig Workers in Ukraine Work Relentlessly

Ukrainian coding online gig workers are showcasing their resilience to work amid extreme conditions

Russia launched a devastating war on Ukraine by air, water, and land. Russian forces are bombing and missile-attacking large city centers and the national capital, Kyiv. For months the Russian President denied allegations concerning his plans to attack Ukraine. The UN has notified millions of Ukrainians to evacuate the country due to impending threats to lives and livelihoods. The humanitarian crisis strengthened as Russia intensified its shelling, resulting in acute scarcity of food, water, fuel, medicines, and other essential commodities. Moscow relates these attacks to medieval-times siege battering Ukraine into submission. Recently, Ukraine's defense intelligence agency claimed that the country's forces have killed a second Russian general after having killed the first general last week. Amid these constant threats and continued loss of lives, Ukraine witnesses a continued coding workflow from online gig workers  and freelancers.

Freelancers or online gig workers who work on online platforms are the lesser-known drivers of the Ukrainian economy. They generally sign up on English language websites including those like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com, to name a few. They also choose several Russian platforms like Fl.ru and popular Ukrainian ones like Freelancehunt.com to find work. Online gig workers generally sign up for jobs like software engineers, project managers, IT technicians, graphic designers, editors, to work on coding, programming, and copywriting. They work on long-term contracts or in piecemeal jobs in big companies like Airbnb, Samsung, and others. Currently, as major cities across Ukraine endure devastating attacks witnessing buildings reduced to rubble, company leaders in the US and Europe have expressed awe at their Ukrainian-based staff. 

The Relentless Dedication of Ukrainian Freelancers

Ukraine, under a full-fledged invasion from Russia, is abode to 44 million people, more than a million of whom have fled the country as refugees to escape the conflict. It is also a massive community of software developers who work remotely for companies all over the US and Europe. According to reports, there were around 200,000 Ukrainian developers in the country in 2020, which indicates that 20% of Fortune 500 companies have their remote development teams in Ukraine. The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the several reasons that pushed those numbers even higher. For tech-driven countries like the US, Europe, and others, Ukraine is a rich hub for freelancing and a source of skilled labor. They are quite well-educated and trained in their specific fields, tend to work for lower wages than usual American or other western European counterparts, and earn slightly more than the average Ukrainian wage.  

Those developers, along with other Ukrainian civilians in the country, are now being forced to defend their homes and cities while sheltering from Russian bombs and missiles. But several of these citizens continue to work remotely for their employers, supporting the local defense effort by day while sending in their deliverables at night. Invading Russian forces have barged into the homes of these online gig workers and have turned them into utter chaos. Amidst these conditions, some freelancers are negotiating with their clients and relying on their goodwill. 

Ukrainians in IT-related fields are utilizing their skills to fight for their country as well. Reports have revealed that a local digital marketing agency in Kyiv is helping the government to carry out cyberattacks in collaboration with Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation against Russian entities. Freelancing employees have also created a local Telegram channel dedicated to crowdsourcing programmers to carry out cyberattacks against Russia, and has gathered nearly a million subscribers. 

Bottom Line

Military analysts are surprised at the extent to which the Ukrainians are showcasing their resilience. As Russian forces continue to bombard the country, fire missiles, and civilians continue to lose their lives in the cross-fire, Ukrainian freelancers are proving their worth by showing determination to work and love for their country. The worse is probably yet to come, but nothing is stopping them.