The sector’s resilience has reinforced Ukraine’s reputation as a reliable technology partner. Ukrainian IT services are exported worldwide, with the United States as the largest market, followed by the United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, and other countries.
Today marks the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 48 months of war. What many initially feared would be a short-lived conflict has instead become Europe’s largest war since World War II.
As of 2026, the war has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month said 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the entire war.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) assumes 15,168 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and 41,534 wounded during four years of full-scale war.
Ukraine continues to allocate more than 30% of its state budget to defense, while Europe has collectively mobilized over €150 billion in military, financial, and humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts remain fragmented. The United States continues negotiations with Russia in pursuit of outcomes aligned with its strategic interests, while European nations, largely observers in these talks, seek a sustainable resolution.
Despite the war, Ukraine’s tech sector remains alive and active. The people in the country continue to invest in the future by building and developing today.
IT exports hold steady despite war
Last year, we covered that the Ukraine’s IT services sector is one that remained operational as in normal conditions. Engineers relocated within Ukraine or abroad, companies adopted distributed models, and clients maintained contracts.
“Many founders are working from the front line, from bomb shelters. Others are moving into tech from unrelated sectors. IT is mobile – it can adapt,” shared Marharita Horokhova previously for The Recursive.
Key outcomes show that the IT sector continues to rank among Ukraine’s top export industries, generating $6.7 billion in IT service exports in 2023 and about $6.45 billion in 2024, equal to roughly 3.4–3.7% of GDP and 37–43% of total service exports.
The industry employs over 300,000 IT professionals, thousands of whom continue delivering services to global clients from distributed locations across Ukraine and abroad.
Defense tech emerges as a new innovation engine
By 2023, Ukraine’s startup ecosystem had pivoted toward defense and dual-use technologies. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, hundreds of domestic teams and volunteer engineering groups have contributed to defense tech initiatives, while platforms like the government-backed Brave1 cluster have supported the development and testing of hundreds of military-tech solutions.
Ukraine also dramatically scaled drone production, with officials reporting output targets in the hundreds of thousands of units annually. “Ukraine is now the world leader in drone warfare,” shared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2025.
Another milestone is the compression of innovation cycles from months to weeks. Engineering communities working directly with the armed forces have created rapid feedback loops between the battlefield and developers, enabling faster prototyping, testing, and deployment of new technologies. This dynamic has effectively turned Ukraine into a real-world laboratory for defense innovation.
Startup ecosystem resilience
Ukraine’s tech and startup ecosystem is anything but stagnant; it keeps evolving and expanding in remarkable ways. Ukraine’s ecosystem value is estimated at approx. €30B, making it one of the largest in Central & Eastern Europe.
Ukraine has produced a growing cohort of globally recognized unicorn startups. Since the beginning war, six companies with Ukrainian roots have achieved unicorn status, including Cyberheaven, airSlate, Unstoppable Domains, Creatio, Preply, and mono.
