s and Ukraine is closer than some people realise. IT services make up 4 per cent of Ukraine’s GDP and are used by one in five Fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Samsung. Many local e-commerce businesses employ Ukrainians either directly or indirectly, making the desire to help deeply personal.  “The situation in Ukraine is close to my heart because I’m originally from Odessa, and I am one of those Russian-speaking people that identifies as Ukrainian”, Yuliya Whiston, an e-commerce recruitment specialist at eSuite, told Inside Retail. “I was born speaking Russian, however, I went to Ukrainian school, and I spoke Ukrainian to one set of grandparents, and with the other set of grandparents I spoke Russian. One of the reasons Russia is invading Ukraine at the moment is supposedly to protect the Russian speaking community, which is absolute nonsense.” Watching the situation worsen over the past few weeks, and feeling that she wanted to do more than donate money and post on Facebook, Whiston decided to use her background in recruiting to help match some of the thousands of Ukrainians who have fled to Australia with potential employers in the e-commerce industry.  “People are travelling to Australia on visitor visas – at the moment, that’s the only visa that’s available for displaced Ukrainians that are trying to escape the war,” she said. “They usually have connections with family and friends [in Australia], but they actually have no right to work. Some of them are actually quite skilled, but it’s very daunting to look for work and say, ‘Hey, I’m great, but you need to sponsor me.’ So we thought we could do it for them.” How to help displaced Ukrainians  Launching today, the eSuite Hub for Displaced Ukrainians aims to help e-commerce businesses find and hire much-needed tech talent, but also help support Ukrainians who have lost everything in the war.  “People are moving from Ukraine and everything they’ve known has been taken from them. We’re talking about friends, family – most of them have displaced families that they can’t get ahold of. The jobs are gone, the offices have been exploded, some houses destroyed. They have nothing to go back to. And they’ve lost their connection with people and their whole network,” Whiston said.  “At least with the eSuite hub, they can connect with the digital community. Potentially, we’ll be able to host a meet and greet, which will bring that closeness to feel like they are part of a community.” The hub has been deliberately designed as a free service and is already supported by the likes of Overdose, Swanky, The Working Party, Convert Digital, and Process Creative. To reach displaced Ukrainians in Australia, eSuite plans to market it heavily through internal and external channels.  Whiston also plans to share the hub in Facebook groups, where much of the local Ukrainian community has rallied around the new arrivals with offers of free accommodation, clothes, and immigration information.  “I personally would love to be in charge of calling them and welcoming them. It will be tough, but we’ll do our best to put them at ease. I’m going to speak my language to them,” she said.  “I feel guilty that I’m in Australia, enjoying the comfort of my office and a cup of tea…it’s nice to be able to help in any way.” Why many are choosing to stay The war has also hit close to home for Overdose, a digital agency with offices in Auckland, Melbourne and Kyiv. Founded in 2016, the company employs over 220 people in Ukraine, and many of them remain in the country today. “I’d say at least 80 per cent of our people there are dedicated to staying – it’s their home, their land and their people. They still can’t believe that their neighbours who speak the same language would want to do this type of thing. They’re determined to stand up for Ukraine,” Paul Pritchard, Overdose’s chief operating officer, told Inside Retail.  “We’ve had approximately 40 people either leave the country or indicate that they want to leave the country and relocate. All of those people now have options of housing and safety, but not all of them have managed to leave.  “There’s currently a restriction on men aged 18-60 leaving the country. The Ukraine military is stopping trains and pulling men off them as they get close to the border, it’s just not possible to get through the border at the moment.” Overdose’s top priorities at the moment are keeping track of its employees’ locations and ensuring that they have the funds they need to migrate away from hotspots and buy basic necessities, such as food. While this may sound straightforward, in reality, it’s easier said than done, given how rapidly the situation has evolved over the last three weeks. “We have people who have moved multiple times within the Ukraine; I’ve got many people who have lost everything, their whole village has been flattened, what they’ve got to go back to does not exist. That’s just a horrific thing to consider. But they’re also resolute in their belief that they will prevail,” Pritchard said.  “It’s hard not to get emotional when you’re talking to people who are pragmatic and talking about the work that they want to do, rather than thinking about the fact that their house is flattened.” Why businesses need to stand up He estimates that 80 per cent of the team in Ukraine are continuing to log on to work every day. Partly, he believes they’re seeking a distraction from the nightmarish situation unfolding around them, and partly, it’s their way of saying to the world that they’re not going to back down.  He says that they are deeply appreciative of the support they’ve been receiving from the global community.  “Our people there knowing that we think [about them] and have their backs and are doing things for them is immense in terms of their psyche,” Pritchard said. He believes other businesses should consider how they can help. “As a global populace, we have to stand behind this and say it’s not acceptable,” he said.  Businesses that have outsourced to Ukraine in the past have a special duty to do so, he says.  “The tech industry in Ukraine is huge, and they support a lot of different businesses. Now is not the time to move your work somewhere else, they’re ready to work, they want to work, and they can do amazing things still,” he said.  “This is the way that they can stand up for the country, so don’t abandon them now.” If you’re interested in employing skilled Ukrainians who have fled to Australia, please register here. If you’d like to help support Overdose employees in Ukraine, please visit the company’s Give a Little page.