In Ukraine, those who feed the country are doubly victims of the war against Russia. In addition to being bombarded by the Russian army, more and more of them are having to abandon their farms to join the Ukrainian armed forces.
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A bill to avoid mobilization in Ukraine. This is what Ukrainian MPs proposed on Wednesday June 12: allowing businesses in the country to pay a monthly tax in order to prevent their employees from being conscripted into the army. Nearly three-quarters of companies say they are facing staff shortages, according to a survey published last April. This piece of legislation could provide relief to one sector in particular: agriculture, which is facing a serious labor shortage, while being one of the targets of the Russian army.
“What you see are the craters left by the shells”, shows Anatoli Sergienko, at the head of a cooperative based in Velykhomikhailivka, a town located 15 kilometers from the front in Donbass. In this type of agricultural village, only a few intact buildings remain. Anatoli Sergienko looks at a pigsty that no longer has a roof. Next door, two brand new stables are in ruins. And that’s without counting the 160 tons of cereals stored in a hangar and gone up in smoke. All that remains is the metal structure of the building.
“Everything is completely destroyed. And as soon as we rebuild, there are new strikes. We rebuild again, and it starts again! So it no longer makes sense to repair.”
Anatoly Sergienkoat franceinfo
As a safety measure, the cows and pigs were moved to the west of the country. Other valuable assets, agricultural machinery, were also sheltered. Under the threat of Russian shells, the fifty employees still work on site, but no longer live there. The conditions are too dangerous. “We work one day, then we take shelter for two more, says Anatoly Sergienko. Or we do the opposite: two days of work and one day of shelter. Someone systematically stands next to each machine to observe the sky, to – God forbid! – avoid bombings. And as soon as it starts, we leave.”
A little further north, in the village of Malinivka, another problem arises for Gennadi Baranik, a producer of cucumbers and tomatoes. He sees fewer and fewer employees working in his fields. The best specialists were sent to the front. He fears it will soon be his turn. “I have diabetes, but it’s not serious. Now they still take it!”deplores the farmer. We were supposed to be exempt, but with the new law, they can summon us to the military station like everyone else.”
Indeed, in recent months, the Ukrainian government has broadened its recruitment spectrum. To replenish its ranks, it integrates men from the age of 25, now recruits prisoners, and has strengthened the prison sentences for those who try to escape enlistment.
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Gennadi Baranik refuses to be told that he is not a patriot, that he refuses to fight for his country. For him, “It’s not giving your life.” which poses a problem, “it’s leaving the one on the farm, putting the key under the door”. On his farm, Guennadi supports entire families. If he joins the front, everything will be abandoned. His employees will lose their jobs. And then a question remains: “If everyone goes to the fronthe asks himself, who will feed the country?