Ukraine's Coal Mines Turn To Women To Solve Staff Shortages Amid War

Natalya, 43, and Krystyna, 22, prepare for their shift deep underground at an undisclosed coal mine in the Dnipropetrovsk region on November 17.

Around 1,000 men who previously worked at this mine are now serving on the front lines; 42 have been killed. Facing a staff shortage, the mine for the first time in its history has allowed women to work underground.

Natalya and Krystyna walk past the men's locker room.

Krystyna took the job four months ago after overcoming her worries about leaving her 4-year-old son at home with her mother. Her hometown of Pavlohrad is 100 kilometers from the front but is often hit by Russian missiles.

Working at a depth of 470 meters, Krystyna is responsible for maintaining the mine trains that transport laborers over 4 kilometers from the lift shaft to the coal seams.

A woman operates an elevator at the mine. 

Ukraine's coal industry, once one of the largest in Europe, has suffered decades of decline since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In a field that was once exclusively male, women are rising to the challenge of working in its mines.

Krystyna waits for the equipment before going down the mine shaft.

Although there were some exceptions, women were mostly barred from doing jobs underground by the government, which considered the work too physically demanding for women -- a policy in place since the Soviet era.

 A female mine employee checks headlamps.

After the wartime repeal of the ban, about 400 women now work underground, although that is only 2.5 percent of the total subterranean workforce. One foreman who did not wish to be identified said that with many of the miners being killed or wounded, they expect that women will continue working in the mines long after the war ends.

"There are only women here now. We cannot leave all of this behind and go for other jobs, letting our boys down," Krystyna said.

Her older brother worked in the same mine. He joined the army two weeks after the start of the full-scale invasion by Russia in 2022, Krystyna said, adding that she worries about him a lot. 

 

Natalya measures the temperature of a train battery.

"I used to work in a store that sold washing machines. When the war broke out, the store closed. I saw a job announcement and I came over to the mine. I did a training course, and then started working here."

 

Natalya at work

 

Natalya and Krystyna replace a mine train battery.



 

Natalya and Krystyna hold on as they travel in the elevator.

"This indeed is a job for men. It's a hard job," Natalya said, before adding,  "I think in the future, even more women will work here."