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☆ Ukraine's Coal Mines Turn to Women to Solve Wartime Staff Shortages
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

Its answer was to allow women to work underground for the first time in its history. "I took this job because the war started and there were no other jobs," 22-year-old Krystyna said candidly. Russia-backed militias in eastern Ukraine took over many coal-rich regions in 2014. DTEK, the mine's owner and Ukraine's largest private energy company, says nearly 3,000 of its 20,000 mineworkers are fighting. After the wartime repeal of that ban, about 400 women now work underground at DTEK's mines -- although that is only 2.5% of the total subterranean workforce.

Persons: Max Hunder PAVLOHRAD, Krystyna, Denys, Natalia, Max Hunder, Ivan Lyubysh, Tom Balmforth, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Reuters, Soviet Union Locations: Ukraine, Pavlohrad, Russian, Europe, Soviet, Russia, DTEK

☆ Ukraine's coal mines turn to women to solve wartime staff shortages
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Its answer was to allow women to work underground for the first time in its history. "I took this job because the war started and there were no other jobs," 22-year-old Krystyna said candidly. He joined the army two weeks after the start of the full-scale invasion, Krystyna said, adding that she worries greatly about him. Russia-backed militias in eastern Ukraine took over many coal-rich regions in 2014. After the wartime repeal of that ban, about 400 women now work underground at DTEK's mines -- although that is only 2.5% of the total subterranean workforce.

Persons: Krystyna, Alina Smutko, Denys, Natalia, Max Hunder, Ivan Lyubysh, Tom Balmforth, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Soviet Union, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk region, Pavlohrad, Russian, Europe, Soviet, Russia, DTEK

☆ Top Ukrainian cyber defence officials sacked amid corruption probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Yurii Shchyhol, Head of the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection of Ukraine, speaks during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 22, 2023. REUTERS/Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Ukraine on Monday sacked two high-ranking cyber defence officials amid a probe into alleged embezzlement, a senior government official said. Yurii Shchyhol, head of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP), and his deputy, Viktor Zhora, were dismissed by the government, Cabinet chief Taras Melnychuk wrote on Telegram. The firings coincided with an announcement by anti-corruption prosecutors that they were investigating officials in cyber defence positions over their alleged roles in a six-person plot to embezzle 62 million UAH ($1.72 million) in 2021. Reporting by Dan Peleschuk Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yurii Shchyhol, Ivan Lyubysh, Viktor Zhora, Taras Melnychuk, Dan Peleschuk, Bernadette Baum Organizations: State Service of, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Monday, State Service of Special Communications, Prosecutors, European Union, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv

☆ Rescuers search for survivors after lethal Russian missile strike in east Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/9] A view shows a residential house heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Selydove, Donetsk region, Ukraine November 15, 2023. Local officials in one channel on Telegram messenger said that four people were believed to be trapped under the rubble. There were no soldiers living there, only civilians," Olha, a 64-year-old woman who lives next door to the ruined building, told Reuters. Russia has carried out regular missile and drone strikes on population centres behind the front line of its 21-month-old invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine regularly reports that Russian missile and drone strikes have killed and hurt civilians and damaged civilian infrastructure during the full-scale war launched by Russia in February 2022.

Persons: Alina Smutko, Olha, Natalia, Max Hunder, Ivan Lyubysh, Tom Balmforth, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Russian, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Selydove, Donetsk region, Russia, Moscow

For Skachkova, the final straw was her son telling her that he was frightened by the constant shelling nearby. "My mother didn't want to go," Skachkova told Reuters, recalling how she had told her daughter that she did not want to be a burden. Moscow denies targeting civilians but the U.N. refugee agency says about 5 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced by Russia's invasion. Families with children usually stayed for a few days, while older evacuees were harder to find permanent homes for and sometimes stay for months. She was told by Ukrainian soldiers who rescued her that she would have died had she stayed another two days.

Persons: Alina Smutko, Skachkova, Denys, Scherbak, Maria Maliarenko, Chasiv Yar, Yulia Nikonova, Denys strode, Max Hunder, Ivan Lyubysh, Timothy Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Toretsk, Ukraine, Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, KOSTIANTYNIVKA, Donetsk, Moscow, Tetiana, Bakhmut, Chasiv, Russian, Skachkova

☆ Ukrainian troops battle exhaustion as war drags into second winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

"Non-stop fighting, assaults, evacuations, and you know, I managed it," he told a Reuters reporter visiting his position on Thursday. FALTERING OFFENSIVEIstoryk serves in a rifles battalion of the 67th Mechanised Brigade in the Serebryanskyi forest in the Luhansk region. More dramatic advances are still possible; last year Russian forces swiftly retreated from positions in Kherson region in early November. "We're exhausted, they're exhausted. Additional reporting by Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey; Writing by Mike Collett-White Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alina Smutko, Valery Zaluzhnyi, Zaluzhnyi, Istoryk, Oleksandr Popov, Michael Kofman, Velyka Novosilka, Popov, Ivan Lyubysh, Mike Collett, Gareth Jones Organizations: 67th Mechanised Brigade, Armed Forces, REUTERS, Russian, Reuters, Carnegie Endowment, International, Artillery, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kreminna, Luhansk region, West, KREMINNA, pinewood, Russia, Kyiv's, Kyiv, Luhansk, Russia's Belgorod, Azov, Kherson region, Bakhmut, Orikhiv, Velyka, Lyman, North Korea, Zakhid

☆ Ukraine not afraid to take on its oligarchs - justice minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Ukraine’s Justice Minister Denys Maliuska attends an interview with Reuters in Kyiv, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, October 23, 2023. REUTERS/Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Ukrainian authorities feel newly empowered to prosecute the once-powerful tycoons known as "oligarchs" thanks to shifting political realities and the war with Russia, Kyiv's justice minister said. "Everyone was afraid of (the) consequences of indicting oligarchs, but this is no longer the case," he said. Ukraine had long struggled to shake off the influence of its shadowy tycoons, who used the huge industrial wealth they amassed after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union to gain political influence and power. A 2021 law aimed at curbing their political and economic influence also sent a clear signal, Maliuska said, and now oligarchs have become "quite accessible" to authorities.

Persons: Denys Maliuska, Ivan Lyubysh, Maliuska, Ihor Kolomoisky, Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Dmytro Firtash, Vadym Novynskyi, Novynskyi, Dan Peleschuk, Tom Balmforth, Mark Potter Organizations: Ukraine’s, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Smart Holding, European Union, EU, National Security Council, Thomson Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Russia, Soviet Union, United States, Ukrainian

"This shift, towards the courts, prosecutors and law enforcement units, shows that hackers are gathering evidence about Russian war crimes in Ukraine" with a view to following Ukraine's investigations, he added. Russian hackers have prioritised targeting government bodies and trying to gain access to their e-mail servers, Shchyhol said, without elaborating. An attempt by a Russian intelligence hacking group dubbed "Sandworm" to launch a destructive cyberattack against Ukraine's electricity grid was thwarted in April, 2022. Shchyhol said his department saw evidence that Russian hackers were accessing private security cameras within Ukraine to monitor the outcome of long-range missile and drone strikes. "You need to understand that the cyber war will not end even after Ukraine wins on the battlefield," Shchyhol said.

Persons: Ivan Lyubysh, Yurii Shchyhol, There's, Shchyhol, Vladimir Putin, Tom Balmforth, James Pearson, Mike Collett, White, Gareth Jones Organizations: State Service of, Reuters, REUTERS, Ukrainian, State Service of Special Communications, Foreign Ministry, Federal Security Service, Court, ICC, Kremlin, Russia, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, LONDON, Russia, Netherlands, Russian, Ukrainian, London

☆ Blinken hails Kyiv's pushback against Russia in visit clouded by attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"This Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible," Zelenskiy said, describing it as a deliberate attack on a "peaceful city". U.S. officials have not publicly criticised Ukraine's military tactics, and last week said they had seen progress in the southeast. [1/6]Police officers and rescuers carry the body of a person killed by a Russian military strike in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, September 6, 2023. Blinken's visit coincided with Ukraine's parliament approving the appointment of Rust Umerov as defence minister following the dismissal of Oleksii Reznikov. During his train ride to Kyiv, Blinken held talks with Danish Prime Minister Mettle Fredericks, who was visiting the same day.

Persons: Blinken, Zelenskiy, Ivan Lyubysh, Antony Blinken, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Dmytro Kuleba, Kuleba, Abrams, Larine Jean, Pierre said, Dmitry Peso, Diana Khodak, Khodak, Rust, Oleksii Reznikov, Mettle Fredericks, Fredericks, Humeyra Pamuk, Tom Balmforth, Ron Popeski, Philippa Fletcher, Timothy Heritage, Angus MacSwan, Peter Graff, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Kirdey, U.S, Kyiv, Ukraine's Foreign, Ukrainian, White, Pentagon, Police, Press, Interior Ministry of, REUTERS Acquire, European Union, Reuters, Danish, State Department, Republican, Thomson Locations: Kyiv Ukraine, Kirdey KYIV, Ukraine, U.S, Kostiantynivka, Bakhmut, Russia, Russian, Donetsk region, Interior Ministry of Ukraine, Handout, Moscow, Washington, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Blinken's, Denmark, Netherlands

☆ Ukraine mourns ace fighter pilot 'Juice' killed in collision
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The death of Andriy Pilshchykov, 30, a poster boy for Ukraine's air force who lobbied Western governments for supplies of F-16 fighter jets, was a bitter blow for Ukraine's military as it battles Russia. The air force spokesperson described him as a "mega-talent". Standing beside her were his mother and a young man in an air force pilot's jumpsuit who held up a photo of him, his head bowed. [1/6]Ukrainian servicemen attend a wake ceremony of Ukrainian military pilot Andriy Pilshchykov, who was killed on Friday when two L-39 combat training aircraft collided over a region west of Kyiv, in Kyiv, Ukraine, August 29, 2023. Since Russia's 2022 invasion, he had travelled to the U.S. in a delegation seeking supplies of F-16 fighter jets.

Persons: Andriy Pilshchykov, Natalia Menesheva, Young, ashen, Pilshchykov, Gleb Garanich, JETS Pilshchykov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, …, Yulia Reshitko, Pilshchykov's, Militarnyi, Ivan Lyubysh, Sergiy, Tom Balmforth, Timothy Heritage, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Catholic, REUTERS, JETS, U.S, Reuters, MiG, NATO, Thomson Locations: Western, Russia, Kyiv's, Kyiv, Ukraine, California

[1/5] People attend an exhibition displaying destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk as part of the upcoming celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in central Kyiv, Ukraine August 21. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Ukraine lined up the burnt-out husks of Russian tanks and fighting vehicles along the capital Kyiv's central drag on Monday as Ukrainians prepare to mark their second wartime Independence Day this week. Kyiv resident Natalia Koval, 59, expressed horror at what the battlefield trophies represented, but said she was confident Ukraine would eventually defeat Russia. Ukrainian officials say their military's advance has been hampered by Russian minefields and well-prepared defensive lines, as well as Ukraine's lack of adequate air support. Residents in central Kyiv said they liked having the wrecked Russian hardware on display and that they hoped it would raise the fighting spirit of Ukrainians.

Persons: Gleb Garanich, Natalia Koval, Mark Omelchenko, ” Mykola Kaplun, Dan Peleschuk, Ivan Lyubysh, Tom Balmforth, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Ukraine, REUTERS, Rights, New York Times, Thomson Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Vinnytsia

[1/4] Security forces operate at the site of a district court, where according to city authorities an explosive device was activated by a man inside a building, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 5, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoKYIV, July 5 (Reuters) - A man who detonated an explosive device at a court in the Ukrainian capital died on Wednesday after barricading himself inside part of the building, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, citing "preliminary information." Two members of a special rapid response security forces unit were hurt during attempts to bring the man under control at the Shevchenkivskyi court in the centre of the capital. Klymenko, briefing reporters at the scene, said the man had "presumably...died from the explosive device". After the hearing, he said the man had first locked himself into a bathroom and tossed an explosive device at two guards.

Persons: barricading, Ihor Klymenko, ., Klymenko, Ihor Humenyuk, Olena Harmash, Timothy Heritage, Ron Popeski, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Security, REUTERS, Ukrainian, Police, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Valentyn, KYIV, Russia

☆ Ex-comic sets sights on Ukraine reconstruction after helping fund war effort
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Now the comedian-turned-politician's charitable foundation is setting its sights on the next big battle: post-war reconstruction. Prytula, 41, led a campaign to acquire Turkish Bayraktar drones after Russia's full-scale invasion in February last year. The foundation also raised about $9.5 million for attack drones, which he said were ordered by Kyiv's military intelligence. After the war, Prytula wants to apply his crowdfunding acumen to help rebuild war-damaged parts of Ukraine. "All of this will need to be rebuilt, and after the war we'll begin measuring everything we've lost."

Persons: Serhiy Prytula, Mariia, Oleksandr, Prytula, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Anna Gvozdiar, Gvozdiar, isn't, we've, Ivan Lyubysh, Timothy Heritage, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Foundation, Bank, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, KYIV, Turkish, Finnish, Crimea, Sumy

☆ Russian forces in retreat near Bakhmut, Ukraine and Wagner say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Ukrainian troops near the front line said Russia was bombarding access roads to slow the Ukrainian assault, which has shifted momentum after months of slow Russian gains in Europe's deadliest ground combat since World War Two. Ukraine's gains have been accompanied by a deepening public split within Russia's forces between Wagner, which has led the Bakhmut campaign, and the regular Russian military. The Russian defence ministry has acknowledged some withdrawals from positions near Bakhmut over the past week but denies Prigozhin's assertions that flanks are crumbling, or that it has withheld ammunition from Wagner. "Using the principle of active defence, we resort to counteroffensive actions in some directions near Bakhmut. Russia has also been experiencing attacks and explosions both in Ukrainian territory it controls and in Russian territory near the border.

It's a very effective gadget," the soldier, who uses the call sign Kakrurt, told Reuters in the central-eastern region of Dnipropetrovsk. Kakrurt fights for Ukraine's 35th Marine Brigade, which modifies commercially-available drones and uses them to attack Russian forces who are occupying swathes of Ukraine's east and south. The brigade shared two video clips with Reuters showing its drones flying into what they said were Russian trenches before detonating. Drones have been used extensively by both Moscow and Kyiv's forces since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. That's why the Ukrainian Armed Forces are developing very, very quickly in this direction," he said.

"In three days of counter-offensive activity, the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Bakhmut sector have liberated 17.3 sq. miles) of territory," Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the "east" group of Ukrainian forces, said on the Telegram messaging app. Ukrainian servicemen ride atop of a tank on a road to the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine May 12, 2023. Prigozhin, whose fighters have been battling to push Ukrainian forces out of Bakhmut's Western outskirts, has said the north and south flanks, guarded by regular Russian troops, were crumbling. Prigozhin called that deceptive and said the Bakhmut advances amounted to the start of Kyiv's campaign.

[1/4] A load of corn is poured into a truck, at a grain storage facility in the village of Bilohiria, Khmelnytskyi region, Ukraine April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb GaranichBILOHIRIA, Ukraine, April 19 (Reuters) - Volodymyr Bondaruk takes little comfort from Poland's decision to lift a ban on the transit of Ukrainian grain. His mixed dairy and arable farm in western Ukraine has already lost a Polish contract and he doubts it will ever be renewed. With uncertainty growing over the future of a Black Sea Grain Initiative that allows safe grain exports from three ports in southern Ukraine, Bondaruk said the outlook for exports appeared increasingly bleak. He called for European help for Ukrainian farmers seeking to export grain, saying that he, unlike "some in Europe", did not want subsidies, just an even playing field.

Humanity will prevail," Zelenskiy said, leading a ceremony at which the Ukrainian flag was raised in Bucha. Zelenskiy described Bucha as a "symbol of the atrocities" of Russian occupying forces. Fighting rages on in the east and south of Ukraine, where Russian forces hold swathes of territory captured after they invaded on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian forces have dug in and held out for now in the city of Bakhmut and are expected to launch a counteroffensive soon. This is part of Russia's planned strategy to destroy Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation," he said.

☆ Ukraine fencers unite behind federation's boycott call
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Members of Ukraine's fencing team attend a training session at the Olympic training base, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoMarch 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine's fencers have welcomed their federation's decision to boycott international competitions featuring Russians and Belarusians, amid a row over whether athletes from the two latter countries should be allowed at next year's Olympics. The move prompted Ukraine's fencing federation (NFFU) to say it would boycott all events in which Russians and Belarusians were included, a message reinforced this week by NFFU president Mykhailo Illiashev. "We aren't giving up," said Ukrainian fencing coach and former Olympian Olha Leleiko. And, along with our friends, we will look for competitions in which Russian athletes do not participate."

☆ Ukrainian police rescue six-year-old girl from besieged Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A mother Halyna, 24, hugs her daughter Arina, 6, after her evacuation from front line city of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, Ukraine January 31, 2023. REUTERS/Oleksandr RatushniakBAKHMUT, Ukraine, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Ukrainian police staged a risky rescue mission in the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut this week to evacuate a six-year-old girl who had become separated from her pregnant mother. Young Arina was found living with her grandparents in a run-down apartment building in Bakhmut, which has been pummelled by Russian forces in heavy fighting. Arina, clutching a large white teddy bear, told her mother after they hugged. He had to gently coax Arina into leaving Bakhmut, calmly explaining the dangers of remaining.

Ukraine's military said it shot down 47 of 59 Russian missiles - some fired from Tu-95 strategic bombers in the Russian Arctic. Russia responded with fury to news on Wednesday that Germany and the United States would send dozens of modern tanks to Ukraine. [1/11] A local resident carry home staff from a house of his neighbour damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Hlevakha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine January 26, 2023. After being promised modern tanks, Ukraine is now seeking Western fourth-generation fighter jets such as the U.S. F-16, an adviser to Ukraine's defence minister said. The United States on Thursday formally designated Russian private military company the Wagner Group as a transnational criminal organization, freezing its U.S. assets for helping Russia's military in the Ukraine war.

Ukraine said it had shot down all 24 drones sent overnight by Russia, including 15 around the capital, and 47 of 55 Russian missiles - some fired from Tu-95 strategic bombers in the Russian Arctic. Eleven people were killed and 11 wounded in the drone and missile strikes, which spanned 11 regions and also damaged 35 buildings, a State Emergency Service spokesperson said. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said electricity substations had been hit as Russia continued to target energy facilities. [1/7] Local residents remove debris from a house of their neighbour damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Hlevakha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine January 26, 2023. Both Moscow and Kyiv, which have so far relied on Soviet-era T-72 tanks, are expected to mount new ground offensives in spring.

☆ 'Where are the kids?' Ukrainian mother recounts helicopter crash horror
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The young mother ran to the burning nursery but could not see her daughter. Some kids were in ambulances," she said on Thursday, a day after the crash in the town of Brovary outside Kyiv. She said it was too early to say what caused the crash, but Ukrainian officials have not blamed it on Russia. [1/4] A relative looks at the site of a helicopter crash, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, January 19, 2023. But thank God, Sofiika fell ill, so we weren't there," the mother said at the vigil, her daughter beside her.

☆ Ukrainians bid farewell to fallen ballet dancer
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoKYIV, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Mournful Ukrainians said their final goodbyes on Thursday to a 26-year-old ballet dancer who was killed fighting Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. Fellow performers and staff members carried his coffin into the theatre, where visitors lined up to tearfully bid farewell. As Khlupianets' coffin was carried away, they erupted into one last round of applause. Ukrainian forces have succeeded in expelling Russian troops from large portions of eastern and southern Ukraine in recent weeks. Reporting by Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey and Anna Dabrowska; Writing by Dan Peleschuk Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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