"In Donetsk, all the mines are"
“It’s impossible to work under current conditions. The coal industry of Donbass is simply being killed, there is no power supply, mines are being heated, ”said Mikhail Krylov, chairman of the Donetsk Independent Trade Union of Miners, to the VIEW newspaper. He told how the bulk of the miners relate to what is happening in the South-East of Ukraine and what could happen next with the Donetsk mines.On the eve, the Komsomolets Donbassa mine was shelled, after which a fire broke out on its territory.
According to the latest data, 30 miners are still underground in a de-energized mine.
The press center of the Donetsk People's Republic told RIA "News»That the security specialists of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy Complex of the DPR urgently left for the Kirovskoye - Shakhtersk area to ensure the work of the power engineers in restoring the power supply to the mine.
On Sunday, as a result of fighting in the mines to them. Lenin and them. Kalinin enterprise "Artemugol" in Donetsk Gorlovka turned off the electricity, and under the ground were nine miners.
Before that, power engineers had to restore power supply in several mines, one and a half hundred miners were rescued.
The Donbass Fuel-Energy Company reported that in the mining district of the Donetsk region, due to hostilities, coal mining has not been conducted since August 1.
Donbass has always been the main industrial center of Ukraine. And although the country was on the verge of an energy crisis because of interruptions in coal supplies, the Kiev authorities continued to bomb the region, destroying its economy.
The fact that what is happening in the Donbass, the newspaper VIEW Chairman of the Donetsk Independent Trade Union of Miners Mikhail Krylov told the newspaper VIEW.
VIEW: Mikhail Alekseevich, in what conditions do the miners of the region have to work now?
Mikhail Krylov: Basically all the mines are. Yesterday we shot at one of our largest mines, Komsomolets Donbassa (located in the city of Kirovsk, Donetsk region). Fortunately, most people managed to get out of there in time. At that moment there were only those who were engaged in its repair. And so, of course, it is impossible to work under the current conditions. The coal industry of Donbass is simply being killed, there is no power supply, mines are being heated.
VIEW: Is it only in Donetsk? And in other cities in the region the same situation?
M.K .: In Donetsk, all the mines are. But in other cities I can’t even say for sure: we have a very bad connection now, often there is no connection with neighboring cities.
VIEW: In the Lugansk region, the situation is probably not better?
M.K .: I think the situation there is even worse. Although I have not been there for a month and a half, but it’s not easier for them - that’s for sure.
LOOK: What moods now prevail among the miners? Are there any plans to draw attention to your problems?
M.K .: It is useless to contact someone, talk about your problems. We have already grown out of children's pants ... Therefore, two mining divisions have already been formed here (fighting under the flag of the DPR - approx. LOOK). And in each of them 15 – 20 people are recorded per day, and sometimes more.
VIEW: Is there any hope that in the foreseeable future mines will work again?
M.K .: At first, many of ours just went on vacation. And then they saw that everything was bombed out, that the mines were not working, there was practically no water in the city, there was no electricity, soon there would be nothing. One of the mines in the suburbs of Donetsk is now reminiscent of the Pavlov House - remember the one that was defended during the Battle of Stalingrad?
VIEW: And what about the families of the miners? They managed to evacuate?
M.K .: Unfortunately, there is no place to take them out. Those who had such an opportunity, even earlier brought their families to Russia or somewhere else. But now, frankly, there is no such possibility. We are in the ring. And we know that these freaks, “Natsik”, scoff and shoot, including civilians. By the way, I myself, frankly, are not in favor of the miners leaving. They must protect their home.
VIEW: It is said that after the outbreak of hostilities in the Donbass there was a disengagement of miners. So, there are several trade unions of miners, the leader of one of which, Nikolai Volynko, for example, actively appears in the media and supports the Kiev authorities.
M.K .: I would not call it delimitation. Those who have a head on their shoulders, have long understood who can be trusted, and who can not. Yes, there are some individuals ... The same Volynko. But almost everyone left him. People just laugh at him.
VIEW: How quickly can be restored mines and jobs for them, if in the near future the situation will normalize?
M.K .: It is hard to hope for something. But I can say that, for example, the restoration of the Oktyabrsky mine will take at least one and a half months and investments of about 150 million hryvnias (417 million rubles). But how much money is needed to re-start mining at our mines, now, probably, no one can even calculate.
VIEW: It turns out that all the miners of Donbass are now sitting without work? How do you manage to survive?
M.K .: Yes, this is a real humanitarian catastrophe. Out of the situation, each in its own way. Someone has some old savings, many live in retirement. My children, for example, who were also unemployed, now live on my retirement. Or humanitarian aid comes with free lunches. But of course, this is not life.
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