At approximately 9:30 p.m. on the evening of 10 January 2020, Serhiy Barabashuk, the chairperson of the Primary Trade Union Organization of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine (NPGU), PJSC “Sukha Balka”, was attacked by two assailants armed with a knife and brass knuckles.
The Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine considers that the reason for the attack was Barabashuk’s activity as a trade union leader. The one day before the attack happened, Serhii Barabashuk was prevented from entering the Juvileina Mine, where he had planned to meet with representatives of the workers’ collective. He is known as an active defender of workers’ labour rights as a deputy chair of the local organisation of the NPGU in Kryvyi Rih.