By Alicja Ptak

WARSAW (Reuters – Infopulse – Ukraine’s largest IT company, planned to transfer hundreds of staff members to Poland for several weeks. This was in preparation for the worst case scenario. And then came the invasion.

70 people with their families were able to settle in Poland, just before Russia attacked Ukraine. Infopulse initially planned to relocate between 500 and 700 people. This would have been 35% of the company’s staff.

Infopulse employees and their families headed to the border Thursday. However, only around a dozen of them crossed the border before Ukraine prohibited all Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 years old from leaving Ukraine so they could fight for their country.

For failing to declare for military conscription, men in Ukraine could spend up to 12 years behind bars.

According to the company, customer concerns regarding continuity of service were partly responsible for making the decision on employee relocation. Staff calls also played a part in this initial decision.

Lukasz Olechnowicz from Infopulse, Poland’s CEO told Reuters that he had not urged anyone. “Every decision is risky.

Olechnowicz stated that his three employees had stayed over at Gdansk’s home overnight because the war broke while they were away on vacation.

Adam Brzostowski from the Polish city hall, Lodz International City Hall, stated that Infopulse was one among the few companies to have correctly estimated the Russian threat to Ukraine.

Nearly a year ago, he tried to persuade companies from Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland to open offices in Lodz. The Lodz area is over 130km south-east of Warsaw. But only four chose to relocate around 500 people.

After the invasion, many companies are calling to ask for his help.

Sławomir Szymusiak, Director General of the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, said that several hundred people had called the chamber asking for help with relocation.

UiPath Romania, a software automation company that is a global leader in its field, announced Friday that it would provide financial and logistical help to its Ukrainian staff.

Since going public last April on the New York Stock Exchange, it has been valued at almost $20 billion. In 2019, StepShot, a Lviv-based startup, opened an office. According to the company, there are currently 30 employees in Lviv. Some have decided to remain while others choose to move. UiPath assists both.

Yanina Krymova is back in Poland as country HR at Infopulse. She continues to help her coworkers with their relocations and waits for her sister, nephew, and mother to come visit her in Warsaw.

This week she stated that “I believe” in her army and that God was on the Ukrainian side. She also said that she donated some of the income she makes to the Ukrainian Army.

Krymova was grave when asked about Putin.

She said that many people were killed because of him without logic. “Honestly, he’s the only one I hate.”