Up to 80,000 Ukrainian men and women working in construction and transportation in other parts of the world have been reported as returning to their country in the wake of its war with Russia.
According to Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, the return workers are coming from different points in eastern Europe, with Slovakia expecting an exodus of up to 5,000 Ukrainian construction workers.
The migration out of Poland may prove particularly large simply because more than a million Ukrainians have settled there in the last decade.
The publication Fortune is reporting that as many as 30% of all Ukrainian construction workers in Poland have left their jobs in recent days to fight in the battle against Russia. A similar outflow has been reported from the Czech Republic.
“While many employers express sympathy with the urge among Ukrainian fighting-aged men to return, their absence will leave a hole in eastern European nations where they make up a significant chunk of the workforce,” notes Fortune, “especially in industries like transport and construction.”
Reports indicate that up 2,500 Ukrainian construction workers in Israel have also declared their determination to return to their home country. Plans, meanwhile, have been put on hold for the arrival of an additional 850 construction from Ukraine into Israel as a result of the war.
Ukrainian construction workers are also performing a different role in the conflict by building what are called hedgehogs designed to frustrate the advance of Russian tanks. The hedgehogs are made up of metal angle beams.
According to the site Republicworld, the hedgehogs are “especially effective in urban combat as they can easily block an entire street.”
A number of publications reporting directly from Ukraine, including the New York Times, have said that Ukrainian construction workers, as well as regular citizens, have in recent days been taking part in constructing hundreds of hedgehogs.
By Garry Boulard
