Ukraine Recruits 2,000 Unemployed Residents For 'Recovery Army' To Rebuild Cities

Ukraine has recruited more than 2,000 civilians into the "recovery army" to restore liberated territories and rebuild reclaimed cities.

The recovery army, comprising unemployed civilians, has already been deployed to the regions of Sumy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Donetsk, Poltava and Rivne. In December, members of Ukraine's recovery army will also be deployed to Volyn and Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

"The regional government actively organizes socially beneficial works on the ground, aimed at restoring the country, and attracts more and more unemployed people to them," Tetyana Berezhna, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, said in a press release, as translated via Google Translate. "More than 2,000 people who have lost their jobs are already involved in socially useful works."

The recovery army will be responsible for social works such as strengthening dams, clearing the coast near reservoirs, unloading humanitarian aid, repair and restoration works, beautification of cities and arrangement of basements in high-rise buildings.

Ukraine's economy ministry noted that they have paid at least 8.5 million hryvnias ($229,958) to the recovery army.

"They became employed and receive payment for such work at least UAH 6,700. So far, the state has already paid them UAH 8.5 million," the ministry added, noting that each recovery army volunteer is being paid not lower than the country's minimum wage.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February in what President Vladimir Putin called a "special military operation" to "demilitarize" and "de-Nazify" the country. Since then, Russia has launched waves of missiles targeting civilian infrastructure, including private homes and residential buildings.

In recent months, however, Ukraine has made great progress in retaking Russian-occupied territories, including areas in Kherson and Kharkiv Oblast. As of Monday, Ukrainian forces were continuing their counteroffensive operations toward Svatove and Kreminna in the Luhansk region.

The Ukrainian army could also cross the Dnipro River and continue its counteroffensive in the eastern section of Kherson Oblast, The Kyiv Post reported, citing an assessment by the Russian military.

The report added that Ukrainian soldiers could threaten the communication lines that connect Russian forces in Crimea to those on the mainland.