Living, working, staying strong: our four years of full-scale war
On February 24, 2022, at 5 AM, many of us woke up to sounds we had never heard before – or to messages we desperately didn't want to believe. That morning drew a line between everything that came before and everything that followed. Not just for the country, but for each of us personally.
The first hours were filled with fear and confusion. Then came decisions. Where to go, how to help, what to do next. And somewhere in the middle of that chaos, one thing became clear: stopping was not an option. Not because we had to keep going, but because continuing to live, to work, to build - that itself was the answer to everything happening around us.
Four years have passed. Four years that have held more within them than an entire decade sometimes does. And yet – today marks four years of full-scale invasion, but Ukraine has been at war with russian aggression for twelve. Twelve years. Nearly twice as long as World War II lasted. Some wars are measured in history books. This one is still being measured in losses, in courage, and in the stubborn will to keep going.
This is not a report, and it's not a timeline of events. It's a story about people - about how our company and every Ukrainian have lived through these four years, through loss and joy, through anxiety and hope.
Our people in uniform
Five percent of our team chose to defend our country. These are people we know – from meetings, from chats, from the kitchen at the office. We are deeply proud of each and every one of them.
Every one of our defenders keeps their place on the team, and we're waiting for them to come back.
One of them already has. He returned, logged back in, and rejoined the team. It was a quiet moment – but for everyone who knew what it meant, it was anything but small.
Life goes on
There's something quietly defiant about finding strength in light, love, and inner power amid difficulties and darkness. It's not denial – it's a statement. A very human one.
Our people didn't put life on hold. Ten of our colleagues got married, families grew, and somewhere between air raid sirens and work deadlines, life just kept happening. And that feels like exactly the right response.
In the four years since the full-scale invasion began, eleven children were born into our Xpand team's families – Emma, Mykola, Sofia, Kira, Eva, Mark, Vladyslav, Lev, Ihnat, and Anna – welcome. You were born into a country at war, surrounded by people who chose to keep going anyway. That's quite a family to be born into.
Business as a statement
Continuing to build, develop, create, and implement something new during the war is our choice.
Our product, Xpand Portal, has never stopped evolving. Updates ship regularly – the latest one went live just last month. Behind each release is a team that shows up, solves problems, and delivers.
Also, we are proud of the clients and partners we work with - of the scale of what we build together and the teams we grow alongside. Because that is exactly the point: meaningful partnerships and the stability they create, even in the most uncertain of times.
We've kept showing up – in Ukraine and beyond. Our team has taken part in conferences and educational initiatives, sharing what we know and learning what we don't. Because staying sharp takes intention. And no matter what the past four years have brought, that commitment to growth and raising the bar has never wavered.
One day salary – when a team becomes a community
Some things you can't mandate. You can't put "solidarity" in a job description or schedule "unity" in a calendar invite. It either exists or it doesn't. Ours does.
Over the past four years, our team has run a voluntary One Day Salary initiative – where colleagues choose to contribute a day's pay towards supporting the Ukrainian military. Due to this initiative generators and tourniquets delivered to those who needed them. Shelving units, 3D printers parts, mobility support, digital equipment. Practical things that make a real difference on the ground. We move forward quarter by quarter, until victory.
Investing in the future — SCHO initiative
When the full-scale invasion began, we could have paused our education initiative SCHO. But we decide to keep going. Because the people who will rebuild Ukraine are being educated right now. Today, SCHO continues as an annual initiative where participants get hands-on exposure to Microsoft technologies — from ERP systems and business automation to AI-driven development and real project architecture.
Investing in people who are just starting out is one of the most quietly optimistic things a company can do during a war, isn't it?
Four years of full-scale invasion. Still fighting..
Four years is a long time. Long enough to get tired, to doubt, to wonder how much longer it will last. And yet, here we are.
For four years, Ukraine has been resisting russia’s full-scale aggression. russia is not only trying to destroy Ukraine as a state - it is challenging the security of Europe and destabilizing the global order. This country is turning terrorism into a daily life.
And it is only because of our soldiers, people who defend, volunteer, donate, and support the front - that we are able to continue living and working at all.
Our employees continue to work after nights of shelling and days without light or heat. We continue to learn, develop our products, implement services, build partnerships — and live our lives. People in our team create families. Children are born. Life continues, even now.
We did not adapt because it was easy. We adapted because we refused to let this war define the limits of what we can build. We mourn when we must. We celebrate when we can. And we keep working.
We don’t know when it will end. No one does. But we know who we are, and we know what we are building — for our clients and partners, for our country, for Europe, and for the world our children will grow up in.
Ukraine is still fighting. And so are we.
Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!