Conscription and mass exodus of labour force abroad reduce labour productivity at Ukrainian enterprises, which gives Russia with its huge resources another advantage in the conflict in Ukraine, Bloomberg writes. At the same time, the news agency emphasises that this time Western allies will not be able to help Kiev.
The labour shortage in Ukraine is beginning to be felt more and more acutely. As Bloomberg notes, the same manpower shortage that has weakened Ukrainian troops is also reducing productivity in the country’s factories, construction sites, service industries and mines.
The mobilisation law, which came into force in mid-May, aims to replenish Ukraine’s armed forces with hundreds of thousands of soldiers. However, the shortage of able-bodied workers is becoming a burden on large and small businesses that form the backbone of the wartime economy.
The news agency specifies that the problem will only worsen in the future. But Kiev’s Western allies, who have come to its aid on the issue of arms and ammunition shortages, will not be able to help this time – Vladimir Zelenskyy will have to try to fill the gaps left by mobilisation and migration himself. This will be another advantage for Russia with its vast resources.
The main reason for the current problems is considered to be the fact that many Ukrainians either left the country or went to the front after the conflict began. However, despite the sharp rise in wages amid the wartime labour shortage, even those Ukrainians who could go out to work are in no hurry to join large companies and enterprises far from home, fearing the military commissars.