Microsoft Coder Releases Personal Updates on Ukrainian Homeland at War — Visual Studio Magazine

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Microsoft Coder releases personal updates on Ukraine’s warring homeland

As anyone reading this probably knows, it can be hard to code — or even write about coding — amid images of bombed maternity wards and massacred innocent civilians during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

To imagine how difficult it must be for a high-level developer at Microsoft who comes from Ukraine and whose family could be in danger is simply impossible.

Olia Gavrych, a program manager on the .NET team, is keeping his followers informed of the situation from his Twitter feed. I have been one of those followers for a long time.

“My sleep is completely interrupted but I’m afraid to take sleeping pills so I don’t know if my parents will call me for help,” she says in her latest post. “Do you know of anything that can help me fall asleep but won’t turn me off completely?”

I was about to offer melatonin (I took a second one at 4am today), but many others already had it, among other solutions.

She is all over Ukraine’s inadmissible situation, posting up to eight or more times a day.

Many messages are personal:

She posts about how to get help. Other posts/retweets are angry. Some are wild. Some are even humorous, even in a macabre setting. Many are just heartbreaking.

“My parents are on a bus trying to cross the Ukrainian border. So far they have been in a traffic jam for 20 hours and I don’t know how much longer. My dad just texted me saying that a woman on their bus just died,” read a March 8 article. Publish.

“Kharkiv is under massive attack, many people have been injured, lost their homes, need medicine and supplies. Here’s how you can help: https://t.co/56dX7UmzYS,” reads- on in a March 7 statement. Publish.

So click, help and read.

And hope.