Appeal from Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU) once again appeals to you because today, on August 26, Ukraine has once again become the target of a massive attack by Russia. Russian forces used at least 127 missiles and 109 drones to strike energy, transport, and infrastructure facilities across 15 regions of Ukraine.
The Russian troops launched a terrorist attack on Ukrainian cities and towns using drones during the night. In the morning, the assault was intensified with various types of missiles, including cruise missiles and Daggers. The aggressor’s targets included workers, members of the KVPU, and residents across 15 regions of Ukraine.
In particular, as a result of the Russian attack on the Kyiv region, three people were injured, including a five-month-old child. In Sumy Oblast, the enemy struck a railway infrastructure site, damaging the contact network and buildings, and injuring a train driver’s assistant. In the Lviv region,the Russian Forces targeted several energy facilities, leading to power outages in the region. In the Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure, resulting in the death of a man in his own home after a rocket hit near a residential area. Another person lost their life due to a direct hit by a UAV on a high-rise building in the city of Lutsk.
It is currently the State Emergency Service of Ukraine informed, at least seven people were killed and 47 people were injured (including 4 children born in 2014, 2017 and 2024) as a result of the Russian attacks.
On the evening of August 26, a missile strike on a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Region, resulted in at least two fatalities and five injuries. According to Governor Serhii Lysak, several residential buildings, shops, and vehicles were damaged. As of the morning of August 27, search operations are ongoing, with two people possibly trapped under the rubble.
(Source: State Emergency Services)
On August 26, Russian terrorists once again attacked the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which led to emergency power outages throughout the country.
We draw your attention to the fact that the Russian troops tried to destroy the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant with various types of missiles and UAVs. As a result of shelling, there are hits and damage. It should be remembered that on June 6, 2023, the Russian troops destroyed the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, which was a war crime and an act of ecocide.
In addition, we inform you that due to the increased offensive of Russian troops, the lives and health of the residents of the mining towns of the Donetsk region are under even greater threat. Russian troops are attacking Ukrainian mines, coal mining enterprises, and energy infrastructure. In addition, we emphasize that Ukrainian workers face constant danger, regardless of whether they are on their way to work or from work, at home or even in a supermarket.
For example, on August 6, 2024, during a missile attack on the Kapitalna mine of the SOE Myrnogradvugilya , where the primary trade union organization of the NPGU operates, several workers were injured of varying degrees of severity, including a repairman and an electrician on duty. and equipment repairman, underground installation machinist, worker. On August 10, 2024, the operator of the central heat shield of the boiler-turbine shop was killed at Kramatorskteploenergo LLC as a result of a missile attack by Russian troops.
The Ukrainian energy system is critically short of domestic electricity production due to Russian shelling, and imports, already at their maximum, are insufficient to solve this problem.
Today’s unprecedented attack is yet another proof that Russia will stop at nothing in its attempts to destroy Ukraine’s energy sector and economy, and to break the resolve of the Ukrainian people, who are defending their freedom and democracy.
Today, Ukrainian workers, members of trade unions, continue to work despite the danger and are also fighting the Russian occupiers on the front lines.
We call on the international trade union community to continue providing comprehensive support to Ukrainians who are resisting the criminal Russian regime and fighting for peace and democracy. Help Ukraine resist, win, and liberate all occupied territories where terror reigns and human rights are trampled.
The appeal of the KVPU remains unchanged:
- Continue to provide economic, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine;
- Support the provision of military aid to Ukraine to protect the population, energy infrastructure, workplaces, and the country;
- Strengthen sanctions against the terrorist regime of Russia and those who support and finance it, as this can significantly limit the financial resources and export of technologies necessary for the continuation of the bloody war;
- Ensure the possibility of using frozen Russian assets to direct them to help Ukraine;
- Isolate and remove from positions in international organizations Russian political, public, and trade union figures, as representatives of a country that carries out terrorist activities against sovereign, independent Ukraine and its citizens.
Photo caption Consequences of Russian strikes on Odesa region State Emergency Service of Odesa
Aftermath of Russian strikes on Odesa region Ukraine
Photo by State Emergency Service of Odesa
Ukraine Solidarity Campaign (Кампанія Солідарності з Україною) 