From the first days of the full-scale invasion, many employees of Metinvest Pokrovskcoal went to defend Ukraine.
They had to temporarily change their work clothes into military uniforms and their tools into weapons.
Lyudmyla POPKOVA: "I dreamed of taking care of my grandchildren, but ended up at war"
Lyudmyla Popkova
Before the full-scale invasion, Lyudmyla worked for many years as an underground paramedic at the "CG "POKROVS'KE" Outpatient clinic, starting in the first years after the mine was put into operation. Six years ago, in 2018, she signed a contract. Currently, she is a nurse at a military hospital.
– I wanted to change my life, and military medicine is something new. My experience gave me the opportunity for further professional development. "I came to the hospital as a nurse in the sorting unit," says Lyudmyla.
At the new location, she had to deal with more severe injuries from gunshot and shrapnel wounds. It is also dangerous in the mine, and the former paramedic has had to rescue miners after accidents more than once. But combat injuries are very different from what Lyudmyla has seen before.
At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, she was supposed to be on duty. But at five in the morning, we got an alarm call.
– I put the first thing that caught my eye in my bag and arrived at the hospital half an hour later. We were informed about the war, and assigned to combat posts. Although a possible russian invasion was expected, the news was unexpected. I never imagined that this could actually happen," Lyudmyla recalls.
The hard military routine began. Many wounded arrived every day. It was very difficult both physically and mentally. Lyudmyla, like all Ukrainians, continued to work despite the missile attacks. During the air alert, we had to take care of the hospital patients and take the guys to a shelter. The severely wounded were sent to evacuation. The former miners of the Colliery Group were among them. During such meetings, Lyudmyla and the soldiers recalled working at the mine.
– At such moments, I felt warmer. After all, most of my life has been spent in the Colliery Group. We talked and remembered how good it was to work in a peaceful life. We have never been offended by the mine, but, on the contrary, we were always supported," says Lyudmyla.
Her husband understood her choice. He is a former employee of the Colliery Group, who spent many years working as a tunneler and is now retired. They dreamed of raising a grandson together, but fate decided otherwise. For now, she has no plans, although she hopes to return to the mine after the victory.
Roman ANDREYKO: "On the second day of the war, I was already defending Ukraine"
Roman Andreyko
It's been two years since the surface foreman of the Mine workings maintenance section at the CG Pokrovs'ke changed his civil profession of a miner for a weapon and stood up to defend Ukraine. On February 26, after his regular shift, he went to the territorial recruitment centre.
Before the start of the war, Roman already had extensive underground experience. At one time, he had to mine coal at different mining sites. He has been working in Colliery Group since 1999. The miner is a stand-up guy, so he took the news from the military commissariat with courage and consciousness.
– I immediately felt that this call was coming soon. And when I received a call from an unknown number, I realised I had to get ready. I was completely calm, only worried about telling my wife about it. I don't like to see people cry. I just packed my things and left, Roman recalls.
He was assigned to the 109th Independent Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces in the Donetsk sector. The junior sergeant received the call sign Rama and serves as a gunner in a fire support company. The soldier was wounded and suffered a concussion. But after treatment in Dnipro, he always returned to his brigade.
He was born in the town of Rodynske and says that the feeling of closeness to his hometown helps him to endure the hardships of the war. His loved ones - his wife, daughter, Roman's mother and his wife's parents – are his good angels who support him morally every day. Such attention makes the heart happy and gives him strength.
– I don't want to talk about the war. Of course, it is very difficult here. In peaceful life, when you come home, you are greeted by your family, who are always there for you. It's warm, cosy, and home-made food there. And in the trench it is damp, wet, dirty. And so it is almost every day. I dream of our victory, I want to go on holiday with my family, – Roman says.
Roman SCHERBAKOV: "The miners' brotherhood helps to endure the horrors of the war"
Roman Scherbakov
In his civilian life, Roman worked as a stope miner at coal mining area #3. This profession is one of the hardest. From the frontline of the labour front, the miner plunged into hell almost from the first days of the war. When he was a young man, after serving in the border troops, he was promoted to sergeant. Then he repeatedly underwent training at the Desna training centre of the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
– As an experienced military specialist, I was called up in early March 2022. I fought as part of the 503rd and 38th separate marine brigades. We stormed settlements during the liberation from the Russian invaders, cleared trenches, held positions, etc. I fought along the entire frontline of Donetsk region, - Roman recalls.
During the first combat assault, he had to endure the loss of a comrade-in-arms who died in front of him. He still can't forget this tragic scene. At the time, the brigade was made up of miners, so not only his brother in arms, but also his brother in profession passed away. The warrior says that the miners' brotherhood helped him endure the horrors of the war.
It's harder on the battlefield than in the trenches, but physically, mining is more exhausting, no matter how paradoxical it may sound. There were times when the area where Roman worked "burned" more than once. So, there is danger in civilian life too.
– Hard physical labour toughened me up and it helped me a lot at the beginning of the war. We even joked with my comrades to get the site manager to take us back to the mine. We were ready to stay there for days on end, just to avoid hearing explosions above our heads. But that was a temporary weakness, – the soldier says.
After a serious illness (Roman suffered an infectious lung inflammation), he was sent to serve as an instructor in his native Desna. Now he teaches mobilised soldiers everything they need to know and be able to do in the war.
