Game developers help evacuate Ukrainian families as Russian siege sets in

polygon.com:

The war in Ukraine has devolved into a bloody siege. After 26 days of fighting, the United Nations reports that more than 3.5 million refugees have fled the country. One quarter of Ukraine’s population of 44 million people have been displaced, driven from their homes by the unprovoked Russian invasion. Outside the country, game developers are doing what they can to help individuals get out alive. Inside Ukraine, they’re walking away from their work to volunteer with their neighbors.

Last week Polygon spoke with Viktorija Trofimova, CEO of Lithaunia-based Nordcurrent. The Ukrainian-born executive employs more than 120 people across two studios in Ukraine, one in the central city of Dnipro and another in the coastal city of Odessa. So far she has helped 18 employees escape the country, providing transportation, temporary housing, and employment for them and at least 23 family members and friends. Primarily women and children, they range in age from infants to the elderly. More are expected to make their way to the company’s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania if Russian forces push further north and west.

“City from city, the situation is very different,” Trofimova said. “Both our studios in Odessa and Dnipro have not been directly affected or hit. Both cities have been relatively calm; Dnipro more calm than Odessa.”

The resort city of Odessa, positioned along the northern coast of the Black Sea, has been heavily fortified over the last few weeks. A city known for its cultural centers and its vibrant nightlife is said to be bristling with anti-tank defenses. To the east, Ukrainians see the coastal city of Mariupol as a grim warning. It was fully encircled by Russian forces, with 80% of its buildings destroyed by shelling.