News Update, October 17: Russia Attacks Ukrainian Civilian Infrastructure, AltexSoft Implements a Risk Management Strategy

It’s been almost 8 months since the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022, and the war is still far from being over with Russia launching missiles and kamikaze drones on Ukrainian cities, while Ukrainian forces are fighting fiercely to deoccupy the eastern and southern regions. 

In our previous news update, we expressed the hope that the situation stabilizes soon. Now, after a series of Russian rocket attacks, we want to comment on how we at AltexSoft mitigate the related risks.

What’s going on: Russia attacks key energy facilities

Lately, the Russian military made a number of attacks that targeted Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.

There was a massive rocket attack on the energy-related facilities of over 12 Ukrainian cities on Monday, October 10, which was recognized as one of the most significant rocket attacks since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. This attack has been somewhat successful as a number of power plants and substations were damaged, resulting in part-time electricity and network outages.

On October 17, Kyiv and other cities were again struck by kamikaze drones, which continue to target critical infrastructure.

AltexSoft’s actions: installation of generators and Starlink terminals to ensure uninterrupted operations

With just over 50 percent of AltexSoft staff located in Ukraine, fewer than 10 percent of them were affected by the recent attacks or experienced issues accessing a working environment. Most of those affected were able to return to work within a couple of hours, and 9 out of 10 affected were back on duty in the afternoon as the power hasdbeen swiftly restored in most locations thanks to the operations of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

Considering the ongoing war, we have anticipated that such risks may result in short-term “hiccups”  to our operations. Here are the steps we have taken and are currently taking to deliver stable service despite possible power outages.

Installing generators in two offices. We are installing diesel generators in two of our current main Ukrainian offices – Lviv and Kremenchuk. These will allow our teams to work without outside electricity for several days or weeks if necessary.

Installing Starlink. We have purchased and installed Starlink antennae for these same offices, allowing for high-speed internet connection when fiber internet connections are unavailable.

Arranging co-working options outside of office locations. Our managers and administrative teams have discussed risk mitigation plans separately with each employee. In addition, for employees outside of Lviv and Kremenchuk, we have planned several smaller local co-working offices in different locations around the country with similar capabilities. That way, in case of ongoing power outages, most employees will be able to work from those smaller co-working locations.

Encouraging personal back-up equipment purchases. Finally, while not part of AltexSoft’s efforts, but as part of the personal risk management strategy, several of our employees have purchased similar diesel generators, and Starlink antennae to achieve the necessary reliability at their home-office operations. Many more are considering it after the attacks.

To sum it up, we at AltexSoft cannot completely remove the risks related to future attacks, but we will be able to minimize their effects on our operations and ability to deliver our services. We are prepared to handle the outages and we are proud to see our employees showing responsibility and resilience in reacting to the situation.

Look into the future: such attacks can’t stop Ukraine from counterattacking as international support for Ukraine grows

Last week was one of Russia’s most potent air attacks since the start of the invasion. However, we believe attacks of such scale cannot be regular or long-lasting due to the low availability of long-range rockets to Russian military forces.  

Moreover, it’s obvious that these attacks do not improve the position of the Russian forces on the ground. While they temporarily affect the utilities’ availability to some civilians, they do not stop Ukrainian counter-offensive operations. And while they have damaged the infrastructure, our governmental and municipal services have been able to restore the utilities within a matter of hours, allowing us to continue functioning with maximum efficiency.

Additionally, the Rammstein 6 meeting was held at NATO headquarters in Brussels on October 12. Supporting Ukraine with additional air defense systems was a top priority of the agenda. And the recent missile attacks have only encouraged our international partners to commit to sending more military aid to Ukraine. 

As a result of this meeting, wiithin weeks, Ukraine will get the most modern air defense systems such as NASAMS and IRIS-T to enhance the protection of critical infrastructure and support our counter-attack operations. 

Featured image by Teksomolika – Freepic.com