On February 24, at roughly 6:15 AM, our friends in Kyiv received the worst wake-up call one may imagine. A series of seven loud explosions ripped through the air, spreading panic and horror across this peaceful European capital housing 3 million people.
That was the beginning mark of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine: aggression incomprehensible given that a nuclear power with a 1+ million army— under false pretexts — invaded a weaker neighbor with a 5x smaller army, breaking the cycle of almost 80 years of (relative) peace in Europe.
To our customers, partners, employees —
We condemn the Russian government’s decision to invade Ukraine. We are appalled by Russian war crimes in Ukraine: bombing civilian targets, killing citizens of a sovereign state (killing women and children), using exceptionally lethal weaponry (including cluster and thermobaric weapons).
Furthermore, we are vehemently opposed to Russia’s misrepresentation of the truth:
- degrading the true nature of this evil war by pretending it to be a “special operation” or a “conflict”;
- suppressing the truth about thousands of Russian casualties in the unjust war with Ukraine;
- arresting anti-war protesters (like 77-year old Leningrad siege survivor Yelena Osipova);
- banning free speech in Russia.
Russia claimed they started an operation to “denazify” Ukraine (the irony of which is not to be underestimated — after all, Ukraine’s President is of Jewish origin, and 4 of his family members were killed by Nazis). Yet, Russia is de facto waging a full-scale war against a peaceful neighbor and following the footsteps of Nazi Germany when it — aided by the Soviet Union — invaded my home country Poland in 1939. This is particularly relevant as Russia annexed territory from Ukraine 8 years ago.
As a company with thousands of customers all over the world and hundreds of employees (including Ukrainians and Russians), we must take a stand.
Here is what that means for us:
Ukraine relief
We are sending 200,000 PLN (~ $50,000) worth of medical aid relief to Ukraine through the initiative we’ve spearheaded BiznesDlaUkrainy.pl (“Polish Business For Ukraine”). We are also allocating another 20,000 PLN to provide housing to women and children fleeing from the warzone to Poland.
Our employees
We have a number of Ukrainian team members, and we are providing different types of support to them and their families in this difficult time. We are also supporting our employees in Russia, as they are severely impacted by their government’s decision to proceed with the senseless invasion of Ukraine.
Pausing the sale of all new software to Russia
In response to Russia’s unprecedented invasion of Ukraine, we are stopping new sales of our products in Russia and Belarus. We are severing ties with all Russian government agencies and companies that are suspected of being actors in this war effort. We want to point out that we are not terminating relationships with our small and medium-sized business customers. In light of Russia’s continued policy of undermining free speech, we believe that email remains one of the few open channels where companies and people can express themselves freely.
GetResponse has been present in Russia for nine years and has a significant presence on the Russian market. While the decision to limit our Russian operation has been a difficult one, given the circumstances, it is the right thing to do.
What can you do to help?
We stand with Ukraine and will keep supporting our friends in the best way we can. And so can you! Here are some verified funds you could support to help Ukrainians stand even stronger:
Ukrainian Armed Forces with the National Bank of Ukraine
Come Back Alive Fund (Повернись Живим)
Red Cross’ Ukraine Emergency Appeal
Humanitarian Aid of the National Bank of Ukraine
Nova Ukraine’s Humanitarian Aid
Or take the initiative and hire a Ukrainian company for one of your next project — support Ukrainian tech sector!
Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦