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Марія БровінськаІсторії
10 June 2025, 09:00
2025-06-10
“Ukraine is still here. And I’m staying too.” The story of an American EPAM tester who lives in Ukraine, helps the military, “misses a little the choice of convenience foods in American supermarkets,” and is in no hurry to return to the U.S.
American Sean Andrew More first arrived in Kharkiv in the turbulent year of 2014. He told his family not to worry that he was going to Europe. While living in Ukraine, Sean managed to shine in IT — an English teacher mastered the profession of QA.
He has been living here permanently since 2017, and today he works at the Lviv office of EPAM and actively volunteers. He has no plans to return to the US. Sean told dev.ua how he lives in the land of the unbreakable, who helps him volunteer, and what he loves most here. Below is his direct speech.
American Sean Andrew More first arrived in Kharkiv in the turbulent year of 2014. He told his family not to worry that he was going to Europe. While living in Ukraine, Sean managed to shine in IT — an English teacher mastered the profession of QA.
He has been living here permanently since 2017, and today he works at the Lviv office of EPAM and actively volunteers. He has no plans to return to the US. Sean told dev.ua how he lives in the land of the unbreakable, who helps him volunteer, and what he loves most here. Below is his direct speech.
First visit to Ukraine
I first came to Ukraine in 2014 to see my Ukrainian friends, whom I had previously communicated with online. This was about a week after the demolition of the Lenin monument. Uneasy times.
I told my family in the US that I was going to Europe. I spent a week in Kharkiv, I really liked the city, the atmosphere, meeting nice people. When I returned home, I already started planning my next visits.
In 2017, I finally moved to Ukraine. My family was worried, but I made this decision consciously: to live and work here.
Transition to IT and a large Ukrainian family
At first, I was teaching English, and one of the students found out that I wanted to go into IT. A week later, he said that he had talked to his colleagues and they wanted to interview me. We agreed that the company would train me to work as a QA engineer and a scrum master, and I, in turn, agreed to help my new colleagues with English. Since then, I have been working in IT, and since 2022 — as a tester at EPAM.
Today I am married, my wife is from Poltava region. So now I have a big family in Kremenchuk and Poltava. We don’t have any children yet, but we have a cat rescued by the military from Donetsk region.
From Kharkiv to Lviv
In 2021, we had to move out of our rented accommodation in Kharkiv. Then we decided to change not only our accommodation, but also the city. That’s how we ended up in Lviv. For 10 years, I have been returning to studying Ukrainian from time to time. Today, I would rate my knowledge at about 40% of the A2 level. However, I don’t have to speak much Ukrainian — I mostly use English at work. In general, I am satisfied with everything that surrounds me. Perhaps I miss the choice of food in American supermarkets a little. There are many semi-finished products that are quick to prepare, and this saves time.
«Why are you staying here?»
This is probably the most popular question I get asked. Back when I lived in Kharkiv, my students didn’t even believe that I was a US citizen. They said, «What’s an American to do in Kharkiv?» They had to show their passport.
After the full-scale invasion, this issue has become even more urgent. I am staying because this is my home. My friends, family, colleagues, former students are here. And I do not want to leave them.
Yes, many friends left Kharkiv, the country, but Ukraine still exists. And I’m staying too.
In February 2022, my Kharkiv friends, who once opened this country to me, found shelter in my Lviv apartment. Many of my friends today are in Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and the USA. Most say they would like to return after the end of hostilities. Although I understand that some will stay. I miss Kharkiv, I know that someday I will return there. I still have friends there who did not leave. One friend was immediately a translator during training for the military in tactical medicine, and now she is mastering demining herself, so that she can later work as a sapper. I am happy to know many brave Ukrainians who are making efforts to bring victory closer.
Help with all your might
I started donating back in 2014. I have this gut feeling that I have to help, that I have an obligation to do so. And now even more so because I worry about my friends and family scattered across the country. I want them to be safe and have a future. So I’m doing everything in my power to help create that future.
In 2022, I wove camouflage nets until the location closed. In 2022–2024, I mostly just donated as much money as I could. I also helped other volunteers by creating graphics for fundraisers and distributing them online. In 2024, together with another volunteer, we purchased drones for the front-line unit and also repaired a car. Since January 2025, I have been included in the Volunteer Register and have started directly supporting reconnaissance with the purchase of drones for the 53rd Mechanized Brigade. I continue to help them now. Also, since the end of 2023, I have been supporting DrukArmia, manufacturing various solutions using 3D printing. I know that there are many motivated volunteers among EPAM employees, and I am pleased to see this. Corporate auctions are also held by the company’s Volunteer Community — last time the competition for lots was fierce, but I won four at once.
In general, I spend an average of two hours volunteering every day.
From the world by a thread
I mostly raise funds online through social networks. I focus on X (Twitter) and Instagram, but I also use Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok, HelpUA Foundation and private channels. For the convenience of collecting donations from different countries, I created accounts in Monobank, PayPal, Revolut and BuyMeACoffee. Half of my benefactors are in Ukraine, from the same Kharkiv, half are abroad — mostly from the USA, France. On this occasion, I ask readers to support my volunteering for Ukrainian defenders.
I am convinced that if we want to survive and win the war, everyone has to get involved in some way. Even if you live abroad, you don’t have the time or resources. Help can be simple — for example, clicking on «share/add to stories/retweet» a fundraiser. But we all have to do something. There are many opportunities to help in every city in Ukraine. Whether it’s donating, weaving camouflage nets, donating clothes to refugees, or simply sharing fundraisers on social media.
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«Моя фінансова мета — накопичити $1 000 000, щоб мати пасивний дохід і жити на нього». Як айтішники витрачають гроші та в що інвестують
Зарплата айтішників в Україні — одна з найвищих. І ІТ-галузь під час війни — єдина галузь, яка зростає, попри війну. А айтішники — серед тих, хто найактивніше підтримують армію. Середній місячний донат айтішника становить 10% від зарплати, або $270. dev.ua вирішив розпитати айтішників, куди вони витрачають гроші й у що інвестують під час війни.
Не Патроном єдиним. Айтішник з EPAM шиє військову амуніцію для собак: історія диво-стартапу для чотирилапих захисників України
Максим Лісович, Interior Designer в ЕРАМ Україна, поза роботою допомагає амуніцією українським військовим… собакам. Так, службові пси носять унікальні жилетки та нашийники, мають спеціальні аптечки та турнікети. Чотирилапі в такому «одязі» більш захищені та впізнавані.
За словами Максима, тільки на заході країни нас захищають сотні військових собак. Айтівець допомагає військовим кінологам нести цю службу гідно, забезпечуючи відповідною амуніцією, спеціальними аптечками та турнікетами. Нещодавно він провів три дні поспіль, власноруч відшиваючи нашийники та повідці. А ще два роки тому шити він не вмів узагалі. Ось історія диво-стартапу.
Австралійське задзеркалля. Історія Delivery Director EPAM, який через війну релокувався із сім'єю до Австралії: як адаптуватися та вижити за океаном?
Григорій Клімов — директор з делівері і керівник великої Platform Engineering-практики в EPAM. Понад 10 років він будував свою кар’єру в українському офісі, але війна змусила його з родиною кардинально змінити життя. В березні Григорій з дружиною і трьома дітьми поїхали з рідного Харкова, деякий час провели в ЄС, а згодом — вирушили до Австралії. «Я мріяв жити в цій країні, коли піду на пенсію. Але війна підштовхнула до того, щоб прийняти рішення значно швидше», — каже Григорій.
Ось його історія.
Очільник EPAM Ukraine: «Було б класно мати якісь прозорі, відкриті механізми виїзду за кордон для обмеженої кількості людей»
Керівник EPAM Ukraine Степан Мітіш, який до призначення відповідав за київський та вінницький офіси компанії, дав велике інтерв’ю AIN. В компанії він працює вже 16 років, тобто знає про український IT-аутсорс багато, якщо не все.
dev.ua обрав найцікавіше з розмови.
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