Ekaterina Girnyk18:11, 02.11.23

In the occupied territories, due to mass mobilization, there is no one to take out the garbage.

Residents of the occupied territories complain en masse about unsanitary conditions in their yards, mountains of garbage that are sometimes not removed for several months, and swarms of rats. It is noteworthy that the “garbage collapse” happened precisely when the cities, according to the Kremlin, became “Russian”. The Radio Liberty project “Donbass Realities” analyzed the situation and found out its reasons.

“They haven’t taken out the garbage for six months… Rats have already started running around there, it’s impossible to get to the house,” writes one of the residents of Donetsk about the situation.

Residents of other cities in the occupied Donetsk region also complain about similar problems: Amvrosievka, Shakhtersk, Ilovaisk, Yasinovataya, Makeevka. From the Lugansk region they write about growing landfills in Sorokino (formerly Krasnodon) and a rat infestation in Lisichansk. In many populated areas, people are struggling with garbage and rodents, setting fire to landfills and choking on choking smoke.

Why don’t they take out the garbage?

The Donetsk utility company complains that the equipment is available, but there is no one to work – the number of workers is half or even three times less than necessary.

Company representatives do not specify where the men who traditionally worked in these positions have gone. At the same time, on social networks people point out that, in addition to low wages, the reason for the shortage of personnel is the lack of draft protection.

At the same time, the occupation authorities write about the garbage problem infrequently and in passing. Now the occupiers are announcing on TV and on social networks that the problem will be solved as soon as new waste containers and garbage trucks are delivered. The first batch – 1000 tanks – has already arrived in the occupied part of the Donetsk region. But there is still no one to clean up the garbage.

The amount of damage caused to the Ukrainian environment by the war has been announced (video)“Most of the workers were called up by the occupiers for the war, the other part fled from the war. Therefore, there is simply no one to take out the garbage. The occupation administration is forced to ask to reduce mobilization plans and send labor,” the Ukrainian Center for National Resistance describes the situation in the communal sector of Shakhtersk.

“The occupation administrations have already resorted to this practice, when teachers, doctors and builders sent from Russia filled the shortage of personnel on the ground. Now, obviously, it is the turn of the public utility workers,” writes Donbass. Realities.

At the same time, the occupied Donbass may become a dumping ground for Russian regions

At the end of August, the Center for National Resistance reported: Russians began to transport household waste from Rostov to the Donetsk region. At the same time, in the Rostov region itself, the idea of ​​building new landfills was abandoned due to the ecological state of the region. Rostov itself is just as choked with garbage as Donetsk. This is often written about in local media.

“In the meantime, the occupation authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions are also trying to convince residents that the garbage problem is about to be solved. Every week on their media resources, officials report on the arrival of the next batch of garbage collection vehicles and containers from Russia. But it seems that people already understand perfectly well , that it’s not a matter of the availability of equipment,” writes Donbass. Realities.

(C)UNIAN 2023