Every day thousands of communal workers work to ensure the operation of infrastructure and minimize the impact of the Russian occupiers on the inhabitants of Ukrainian cities.
Cleaners, emergency services, condominiums are the heroes of the invisible front, people who could have left, but stayed and continue to work. Even during the war, communal services ensure the cleanliness of our yards, repair water and electricity networks under fire, and protect our property.
For example, Kyiv. There are more work in Kyiv. Some of the workers left, so those who remained work for two. ZhEK works in the usual mode. Brigades of janitors are cleaning even around the houses damaged by the explosions: “Everyone can’t leave, someone has to stay and work.” Kyiv condominiums are also functioning properly. Among the difficulties – contractors for garbage collection or maintenance of elevators have not yet resumed work. Those who remain in their homes organize and clean up on their own. On the first day of the war, plumbers did their job – repairing the water supply. “It was worse than ever, but someone has to do it,” said one employee. Kyivvodokanal is so harsh that when a Russian missile falls 300 meters from them, they still continue to patch pipes.
And in Lviv, Lvivelectroenergo employees shared their work in order to achieve a lot in a short time. Accountant Yulia Zhubrid came to help instead of lunch. She took the potatoes. During the three months of the war, communal workers cleaned several tons of potatoes, carrots, beets and onions. 5-6 bags of vegetables are dried here per day. To speed up the drying process, public utilities have come up with additional dryers in the boiler room.
Despite the daily shelling and the extremely high threat to their own lives, the communal services of Luhansk region continue their work on another front: ensuring the livelihood of cities that are heroically kept under Russian invasion.
Luhansk region is now an outpost of Ukraine. Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, two cities out of five percent of the region that the occupier’s boots are unable to step on, are holding back the onslaught of the Russian horde. The density of shelling and their duration are increasing every hour. From the first day of the full-scale invasion, city utilities workers stood side by side with the military to defend their communities.
So, today we are talking about the heroes of the invisible front – communal workers and how they are approaching our victory every day.
Speakers:
- Oleh Vasyliev, transport expert, YouTube blogger
- Iryna Krisanova, head of Department of Outer Communications at Mykolaivgaz
- Dmytro Grytsai, Technical Director of Mykolaivgaz.
UKRAINE IN FLAMES project is created by Ukraine Crisis Media Center, Ukrainian Catholic University’s analitical center and NGO “Euroatlantic Course”. We are aiming at searching a loud support for Ukraine in the war started by Russia on the 24th of February 2022.
If you want to support Ukraine against Russian aggression, check the link with recommendations by Ukraine Crisis Media Center – https://uacrisis.org/en/help-ukraine.
NGO Euroatlantic Course collects donations to support Ukrainian Army and civilians – https://eac.org.ua/en/main-page/.