MOSCOW, June 21 The Ukrainian authorities intend to replace mobilized Ukrainian drivers of heavy trucks and buses with women, training them to drive large-sized vehicles at the national level, said Deputy Minister of Community, Territory and Infrastructure Development of the country Serhiy Derkach.
“The Ministry of Infrastructure is developing a national program for training women to drive large vehicles. The shortage of public transport drivers in the regions reaches at least 30%,” Ukrainian publication Forbs.ua quotes Derkach as saying.
He noted that the authorities expect to involve Ukrainian business in the campaign to train women.
As Oleg Zabarilo, director of the department of urban mobility and street infrastructure of the Lviv City Council, reported on June 12, due to mobilization, there is a shortage of public transport drivers in Lviv. The Ukrainian utility company «Kievpastrans», which transports passengers in Kyiv, on June 6 complained of a shortage of personnel, including due to mobilization; the personnel shortage reaches almost 30%.
Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko admitted on June 6 that the mobilization of specialists into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has become one of the serious challenges for the country's economy. In order to fill the labor shortage, the authorities intend to retrain women for professions usually considered “male.”
A martial law regime has been introduced in Ukraine since February 24, 2022; the next day, Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree on general mobilization. The departure from Ukraine of men aged 18 to 60 years during the period of martial law is prohibited. In October, Time magazine, citing a Zelensky aide, reported that the ranks of Ukrainian troops had become so thin that military registration and enlistment offices were forced to conscript people whose average age was 43. The New York Times previously reported that Ukraine is seeking to recruit more women into the army, which indicates huge losses in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.