Bhaskar Chakravorti, Columnist

Ukraine Invasion Disrupts a Vital Tech Talent Pool

One in five Fortune 500 companies use Ukrainian IT services. Or at least, they did before Russia invaded.

A Ukrainian civilian volunteer gets briefed on his new job.

Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine has already had an impact on the energy and commodities markets. And there’s another major industry that will take a hit: tech.

So far, most of the focus has been on cyber security and semiconductor chips. Russia is a world leader in cyber warfare, sowing misinformation and weaponizing digital platforms. And semiconductor bottlenecks could get worse as the Ukraine crisis deepens, with 90% of U.S. semiconductor-grade neon supplies coming from Ukraine, and 45% of the world’s palladium coming from Russia, while the Biden administration threatens a chip blockade of Russia — and adding to the uncertainties already roiling semiconductor markets.