A worker welds part of a bunker at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of steel and mining consortium Metinvest, ships metal bunkers to the front. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

KRIVOY ROG, Ukraine (AP) — The clank of torches and the whir of angle grinders fill the vast production floor of a steel mill in Krivoy Rog, the central Ukrainian city where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was born.

Instead of their usual work of producing and repairing mining equipment, some workers are engaged in the construction of metal bunkers for the front troops. Metinvest, a Ukrainian mining and steel company, launched the project, and the workers say they are happy to help resist the Russian invasion.

For now, that means assembling prefabricated materials to craft underground shelters to a Soviet-era design. 123 of these 2 meters (6.5 feet) wide by 6 (20 feet) long structures have already been shipped to areas such as Zaporizhia and Donetsk oblasts in the east of the country.

Nearly two tons of steel are needed for each shelter. They are built to withstand projectiles up to 152 mm caliber, can hold up to six soldiers, and must be buried 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) underground.

“It’s so they can rest and withstand attacks,” says Petro Zhuk, who leads the 40-person team building the structures. produce them, his team can do one a day. added.

The six beds inside are made of wood. The shelter includes space to place a portable stove, a double floor that can be used to store weapons and an exit to the surface, as well as an entrance which is accessed through a tunnel, he explained.

Zhuk speaks compassionately of the Ukrainian soldiers, hoping they will find some solace in the bunkers.

“While they’re indoors, they may not worry about a seizure that might occur while they sleep,” he said. “They can be warm and comfortable.”

Metinvest also owns the Azovstal Steel Plant, a fortress-like factory in Mariupol destroyed and now occupied. During the months that the siege of the city lasted, civilians and soldiers took refuge in the installations, and the fight of the last Ukrainian troops who defended the factory became a symbol of resistance against the invasion of Moscow.

In an interview with Ukrainian media, Metinvest CEO Yurii Ryzhenkov said plans for the bunkers were found in the company’s archives and dated back to when it was a Soviet company. At that time, every factory had to produce something for the army, he said.

Vitalii Yevzhenko, a 54-year-old operator who works erecting the bunkers, considers the work he does with his colleagues to be very important.

“It’s for the victory of Ukraine. The sooner the war is over, the better,” he said.

Workers cut and weld parts of a bunker at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of steel and mining consortium Metinvest, ships metal shelters to the front. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Workers cut and weld parts of a bunker at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of steel and mining consortium Metinvest, ships metal shelters to the front. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Vitalii Yevzhenko, 54, shapes sheet metal to build a bunker, at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of Metinvest's steel and mining company, sends metal shelters at the forehead. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Vitalii Yevzhenko, 54, shapes sheet metal to build a bunker, at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of Metinvest’s steel and mining company, sends metal shelters at the forehead. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Workers weld part of a bunker at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of the steel and mining consortium Metinvest, ships metal shelters to the front. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Workers weld part of a bunker at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of the steel and mining consortium Metinvest, ships metal shelters to the front. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Vitalii Yevzhenko, 54, shapes sheet metal to build a bunker, at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of Metinvest's steel and mining company, sends metal shelters at the forehead. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Vitalii Yevzhenko, 54, shapes sheet metal to build a bunker, at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of Metinvest’s steel and mining company, sends metal shelters at the forehead. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A worker welds part of a bunker at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of steel and mining consortium Metinvest, ships metal bunkers to the front. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A worker welds part of a bunker at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of steel and mining consortium Metinvest, ships metal bunkers to the front. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A worker welds part of a bunker at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of steel and mining consortium Metinvest, ships metal bunkers to the front. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A worker welds part of a bunker at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of steel and mining consortium Metinvest, ships metal bunkers to the front. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Workers weld part of a bunker at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of the steel and mining consortium Metinvest, is sending metal shelters to the front. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Workers weld part of a bunker at a Metinvest factory in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, March 2, 2023. The factory, part of the steel and mining consortium Metinvest, is sending metal shelters to the front. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

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