Today, we all watch in horror as the unthinkable becomes thought, and then reality. While RNN is a site focused on recruiting, and not geopolitics, we felt it was important to add our small voice to the chorus of global condemnation.

I got to know Ukraine, as I often do, via its recruiting community. It's an exceptionally vibrant one, and Kyiv has long been high on the bucket list for an in-person visit. Leaders from across the globe have traveled to Ukraine to teach and learn from the recruiters there, and have tracked in real time how the TA community has grown and thrived. It's been a massive success story. Incredibly intelligent recruiters who love what they do. They have attracted PhDs and JDs, MBAs, and entrepreneurs to their ranks.

The hope has been that Ukraine would continue to develop as an emerging economy - hiring and recruiting was clearly helping drive that growth. It was an optimistic vision, which mapped to the overall optimism of the people.

Just yesterday, I was messaging on LinkedIn with an agency recruiter there. Her message: "We are ready, but also confused. Russians our our cousins and neighbors. We are hopeful that this won't go any farther, and we will continue to do business as long as we can."

Clearly, that hope has not proven out.

The world is about to change - keeping up the spasming that began at the outset of 2020. The supply chain ripples we have analyzed on RNN, the impacts to the talent supply chain, will only increase and become waves. All we can do at this point is prepare to pivot, and hope for the best for our friends in Ukraine - both in the talent community, and across the population.

Light a candle tonight for these brave people.