Kiev metro complains of worker shortages due to conscription

The subway system is severely understaffed due to emigration and mobilization, the operator says

The Kiev metro system has been forced to increase intervals between trains due to a severe shortage of skilled workers, according to a statement on the operator’s Facebook page on Thursday. The staffing problems stem from “forced migration” due to the conflict with Russia and mobilization, it said.

The agency said about 7% of the city’s subway workers have already been drafted to serve in the ranks of the armed forces, and their number is constantly growing due to the mobilization drive. It also noted that it takes a long time to train new employees for many subway-related jobs. For instance, a train mechanic has to undergo at least 12 months of training before beginning work on the line.

The operator said in a statement that it was working to bring in new staff and was cooperating with specialized educational institutions and the city employment center. It noted that there is currently a shortage of over 80 train drivers, nearly 50 mechanics, and roughly 160 engineers and other specialists.

Due to the “grave” staff shortages, the operator said it will have to change train schedules on all metro lines “in the near future.” It specified that the intervals between trains will be raised by approximately one minute during standard operating times and by 45 seconds during peak hours.

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Last week, Ukrainian media reported an acute shortage of public transportation drivers in Kiev, a circumstance also attributed to the mobilization. The news outlet UNN cited Kievpastrans, the city’s largest public transportation company, as saying that some 500 of its drivers had so far been mobilized.

Ukraine has been struggling to replenish the ranks of its army amid a series of setbacks in its conflict with Moscow. Last month, Kiev passed a controversial mobilization law that lowered the conscription age, expanded the powers of enlistment officers, and introduced stricter penalties for draft dodgers. Earlier in May, legislation was also passed allowing some prison inmates to be paroled if they enlist in the army.

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While Vladimir Zelensky previously insisted that some 31,000 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed in the conflict with Russia so far, the true figure is widely believed to be in the hundreds of thousands. Earlier this month, then-Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu claimed that Ukrainian military casualties this year alone have exceeded 111,000 soldiers.