ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis tech firm is trying to help its 13 contractors in Ukraine, most of whom remain in the country as Russian forces advanced Friday on the capital of Kyiv and residents were urged to “prepare Molotov cocktails” to defend against them.
The team members of Human Agency are engineers, web developers and human resources recruiting specialists. Six live in Kyiv, two in Cherkasy, and two in Lviv. Three have left Ukraine and are in Romania.
Brendan Lind, CEO of Human Agency, is in contact with U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt’s office, to determine if there is humanitarian aid available and if any Ukrainians interested in moving to the United States can do so. Blunt, a Republican from Missouri, on Thursday called for “crippling economic sanctions (against Russia) and direct support for Ukraine.”
“We’re very connected to them. They’re very much like family, in a way that is intimate and close,” Lind said of the Ukrainian contractors. “The broader complications are, how long does this (invasion) last? Does something happen to the team specifically, their well-being and health? There’s a lot of uncertainty.”
Human Agency, with an office in the Central West End, has 30 employees in the United States and does digital marketing and software for clients ranging from startups to nonprofit advocacy organizations. The firm says its mission is “expanding human freedom” and Lind said working with “anti-totalitarian and pro-democracy” Ukrainians is part of that commitment.
