Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an attack on democracy and the rule of law. Ukrainians deserve our support, our solidarity, and must not be left isolated.
In a different world the Emerging Europe team would have on Monday, February 28, been flying into the Ukrainian capital Kyiv for the launch of Tech Emerging Europe Advocates Ukraine, an initiative designed to promote and showcase the country’s amazing tech sector and its abundance of innovative start-ups.
Craig Turp-Balazs: “We still hope to launch Tech Emerging Europe Advocates Ukraine next week, in a hybrid format in collaboration with our local partners, to demonstrate that the country remains open for business and that this brutal, unprovoked act of sheer aggression will not succeed in isolating the country. We want to show that Ukraine’s ambitions to become Europe’s largest tech hub remain a possibility.“
“We want to transform Ukraine into a country of start-ups. We expect the technology share of GDP to grow from four to 10 per cent by 2025, up to 16.5 billion US dollars, making us the largest tech hub in Europe”, – said the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky within the 2022 Diia Summit in Kyiv.
The next few days will be crucial not just for Ukraine but also for the future of an entire region, the region that we call emerging Europe.
More than three decades of often painful progress risk being undone by a dictator, Vladimir Putin, who simply cannot stomach the prospect of a free, prosperous, democratic, and innovative country blossoming on his doorstep.
#StayWithUkraine
#RussiaInvadedUkraine
Support Ukraine!
Come Back Alive is one of the largest charitable foundations that supports Ukrainian soldiers, founded by the IT specialist Vitaliy Deynega. The organization collected more than 210 million UAH (more than $7M) in 2014. According to Na chasi, the Patreon page Come Back Alive is in the top ten projects by the number of financial donations.
There are several other organizations to support:
- Army SOS, which develops drones;
- Everybody Can, an organization that supports internally displaced people;
- Help on the Ministry of Defense website.
#StrongerTogether
#staywithukraine