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Ads seeking trench diggers in Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Belgorod regions appear on Russian job sites

Job postings seeking workers to build fortifications and dig trenches in the occupied parts of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk regions as well as in Russia’s Belgorod region have begun appearing on Russian social media and job sites.

The postings offer work on a rotating basis with salaries between 89,000 rubles ($1,380) and 258,000 rubles ($4,000) monthly. Despite the higher-than-average wages, most of the ads don’t include any worker requirements, including prior experience. The employers promise free accommodations, food, and transportation.

Most of the ads have been posted by the company StroiKom, which says on its site that it’s responsible for building the Crimean Bridge, the Sochi Airport, a stadium in Nizhny Novgorod, and St. Petersburg’s Lakhta Center skyscraper.

The Telegram channel Mozhem Obyasnit noted that Russian job review sites are full of negative comments from people who claim to have worked for StroiKom. In particular, reviewers claim they were forced to live in army tents and that their salaries were delayed and not paid in full.

“Don’t be tempted to work for StroiKom LLC, no matter how much they pay you. Run away,” said one commenter.

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