{"id":660200,"date":"2025-04-02T19:20:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T16:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-day-a-russian-missile-hit-a-ukrainian-tech-giant\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T19:20:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T16:20:39","slug":"the-day-a-russian-missile-hit-a-ukrainian-tech-giant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-day-a-russian-missile-hit-a-ukrainian-tech-giant\/","title":{"rendered":"The day a Russian missile hit a Ukrainian tech giant"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a387295c8adc\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a387295c8adc\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-day-a-russian-missile-hit-a-ukrainian-tech-giant\/#Preparing_for_war\" >Preparing for war<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-day-a-russian-missile-hit-a-ukrainian-tech-giant\/#The_recovery_process\" >The recovery process<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-day-a-russian-missile-hit-a-ukrainian-tech-giant\/#The_past_and_future_of_Ukrainian_tech\" >The past and future of Ukrainian tech<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every entrepreneur has to overcome obstacles, but few have faced the challenges of Oleksandr Kosovan. As the founder and CEO of Ukrainian scaleup MacPaw, Kosovan runs his business in a country under invasion. The company has even been hit by missile barrages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As relentless Russian bombing and shelling pummel Ukraine, his team presses on with their work. In October, they released a new version of CleanMyMac, MacPaw\u2019s flagship maintenance and optimisation product.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt was completely developed during the war,\u201d Kosovan tells TNW on a video call from his home in Kyiv.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The software earned <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/352922\/cleanmymac-x-review-macos.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rave<\/span><\/a><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/marksparrow\/2024\/10\/16\/the-new-cleanmymac-update-will-keep-your-mac-fit-and-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reviews<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But two months later, the horrors of war arrived at MacPaw\u2019s doorstep.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper channel-cta\">\n<div class=\"ica-text\">\n<p class=\"ica-text__title\">3 free tickets to TNW Conference? Get them now!<\/p>\n<p>For a limited time, groups can get up to three extra free tickets! Book now and increase your visibility and connections at TNW Conference<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On a cold December morning, another devastating Russian ballistic missile attack struck Kyiv. The explosion hit MacPaw\u2019s headquarters, shattering the building\u2019s facade, windows, and engineering equipment. According to the rescue services, one person was killed in the attack.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kosovan was en route to an event when a message about the strike <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared on his phone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe only thing we could do is initiate our emergency procedures,\u201d Kosovan says. \u201cWe had plans for this risk and they helped us to organise actions \u2014 because people were panicked. They didn\u2019t know what to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Safety measures were swiftly implemented, emergency checks conducted, and recovery steps taken. The next day, MacPaw gained access to the office building. Staff worked alongside emergency services to salvage equipment and prevent further damage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company\u2019s office spans three floors of the building. The hardest hit of them is still not operational, but the others have reopened. Staff are already working in them again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MacPaw\u2019s wartime adaptations had given the business a head start on the recovery. Many team members were already working remotely. Processes had become highly automated. Staff were spread out geographically and shifts were scheduled to cover all critical roles during emergencies and military call-ups.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the missile strike was traumatic, MacPaw had been prepared.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Preparing_for_war\"><\/span><b>Preparing for war<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1412800 js-lazy\" alt=\"The damaged exterior of the MacPaw building after the Russian missile strike\" width=\"960\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2025\/03\/IMG_3551.png\"\/><figcaption>Numerous buildings were damaged by the missile strike. Credit: MacPaw<\/figcaption><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1412800\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2025\/03\/IMG_3551.png\" alt=\"The damaged exterior of the MacPaw building after the Russian missile strike\" width=\"960\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Russian troops amassed on the border with Ukraine in late 2021, MacPaw began disaster planning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company devised mitigation measures for various threats, from cyber attacks to Russian forces taking control of the office. An emergency team was formed from each product and service unit, with members based either outside Ukraine or in the country\u2019s safer western regions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Communications security was beefed up, with Signal adopted as a new messaging service. Office infrastructure was moved entirely to the cloud. Satellite internet was set up to cover the risk of internet loss. The company then waited for reports on Russia\u2019s military moves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On day one of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, MacPaw activated its risk mitigation plan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe had to refocus our priorities,\u201d Kosovan says. \u201cThe first of them was, of course, the safety of our people, and then the continuity of our business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A code freeze regime was implemented for all products and infrastructure, with no changes permitted without prior approval from the emergency team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hardware management strategies also shifted. With supply chains disrupted, new laptops now had to be sourced from abroad. At times, system administrators had to drive to remote locations and personally deliver laptops to team members.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As wartime conditions became routine, the team adapted to their new reality. Nowadays, their biggest challenge is Russia\u2019s relentless attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The strikes cause frequent and protracted power outages. In MacPaw\u2019s home town of Kyiv, daily blackouts of eight hours have become commonplace, leading more team members to work from the office. To keep operations running, the company has installed extra power and internet access lines. A backup generator has also been acquired, alongside an uninterrupted internet access point via Starlink.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cStarlink helps a lot,\u201d Kosovan says. \u201cIt is one of the saving factors for Ukraine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new measures have kept MacPaw\u2019s systems running throughout Russia\u2019s attacks on Ukraine\u2019s power grid. But the human impacts have been harder to resolve.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_recovery_process\"><\/span><b>The recovery process<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1412760 js-lazy\" alt=\"Damage inside the MacPaw building after the Russian missile strike\" width=\"1640\" height=\"2187\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2025\/03\/IMG_9483.png\"\/><figcaption>Windows have been covered in wooden panels to protect what remained inside MacPaw\u2019s office. Credit: MacPaw<\/figcaption><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1412760\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2025\/03\/IMG_9483.png\" alt=\"Damage inside the MacPaw building after the Russian missile strike\" width=\"1640\" height=\"2187\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although no MacPaw staff were physically harmed in the missile attack, the psychological toll has been profound.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe greatest challenge we and many other companies are facing here right now is not the destruction of the offices, but the exhaustion of these people,\u201d says Kosovan. \u201cMentally, this is very hard to process. People are breaking sometimes, and it is very hard to predict and help them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For months, staff in Kyiv have endured air strikes day and night. \u201cPeople cannot sleep normally because they always hear these explosions in the air\u2026They don\u2019t know whether the next night a drone will hit their house or not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The brutality of the December missile attack was a stark contrast to the previous day at MacPaw. Staff had been preparing holiday gifts for <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/childrenheroes.org\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Children of Heroes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, an organisation that supports Ukrainian children who have lost parents in the war.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/macpaw.foundation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MacPaw Foundation<\/a>, the company also provides Ukrainians with non-lethal aid, including protective gear, IT equipment, and medical supplies. Since 2022, the non-profit has distributed over $12mn in total support<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alongside the humanitarian projects, Kosovan is helping to sustain the country\u2019s IT sector. He\u2019s personally invested in almost 20 Ukrainian businesses, including Osavul, a Kyiv-based AI startup that analyses information threats.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Formed to counter Russian propaganda, Osavul now offers services to governments and businesses alike. \u201cOur goal is to review the narratives, show which of them are dangerous, and then give you all the intelligence to understand what you can do,\u201d Dmytro Bilash, the startup\u2019s co-founder, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">told TNW<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> last year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In combat zones, Ukrainian tech also has a powerful impact. Innovations range from a growing fleet of domestic drones to Delta, a battlefield management system. Developed by the military, the software combines a variety of tools, from digital maps to secure communications.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ukrainian Army Lieutenant Colonel Yelyzaveta Boiko describes the system as \u201cGoogle for the military.\u201d \u201cGoogle helps to organise your workspace, DELTA helps to organise your war space,\u201d she <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.act.nato.int\/article\/delta-system-cwix\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">said<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> last year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond the theatre of war, MacPaw has sought to preserve Ukraine\u2019s tech heritage. The latest result is <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Innovation-Isolation-Story-Ukrainian-Present\/dp\/6177948308\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Innovation in Isolation<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014\u00a0a book that chronicles the country\u2019s IT history.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_past_and_future_of_Ukrainian_tech\"><\/span><b>The past and future of Ukrainian tech<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1412758 js-lazy\" alt=\"MacPaw founder and CEO Oleksandr Kosovan\" width=\"1640\" height=\"1090\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2025\/03\/5.jpg\"\/><figcaption>Oleksandr Kosovan remains optimistic about the future of Ukrainian IT. Credit: MacPaw<\/figcaption><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1412758\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2025\/03\/5.jpg\" alt=\"MacPaw founder and CEO Oleksandr Kosovan\" width=\"1640\" height=\"1090\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Released in Europe and the US last month, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Innovation in Isolation<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> explores Ukrainian tech from the 1940s to today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through archival research, interviews with IT luminaries, and vivid photography, the book unravels the country\u2019s digital evolution. The stories span from cybernetics pioneers to modern innovators such as Grammarly and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reface<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All proceeds from the book will go to humanitarian relief efforts through the MacPaw Foundation. Yet the project is not solely a charitable endeavour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s also important to talk about the history, because we all see how Russia tries to change the past by rewriting the history and claiming a lot of things as their own,\u201d says Kosovan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMany things that were considered to be built in Russia or USSR were actually created by Ukrainians and Ukraine. This partially explains why there are so many great tech companies from Ukraine. We have a very rich heritage.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even after missile strikes, that heritage continues to flourish.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere are many companies that emerge in these hard times,\u201d Kosovan says. \u201cHard times produce strong people. If companies can survive, despite the war and all its challenges, the company has a long-term future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/macpaw-survives-missile-strike-to-power-ukraine-tech-legacy\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every entrepreneur has to overcome obstacles, but few have faced the challenges of Oleksandr Kosovan. As the founder and CEO of Ukrainian scaleup MacPaw, Kosovan runs his business in a country under invasion. The company has even been hit by missile barrages. As relentless Russian bombing and shelling pummel Ukraine, his team presses on with&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":660201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280%2C640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2025%2F03%2FUntitled-design2.jpg&signature=72eade6ca918e96e6f09699e6f2e867f","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-660200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}