On-Camera Shock: Zelensky’s Forced Recruitment Push in Ukraine...Feared patrols search for conscripts | Times N...
Draft dodging breeds graft in Ukraine, a country that has been notorious for corruption
At least 80,000 soldiers of eligible age, 25 to 60, have died since 2022, according to Western estimates.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government does not divulge the official death toll.
He has said the army needs to enlist 500,000 out of about 3.7 million men of fighting age who are eligible for service.
These days, many potential recruits all over Ukraine think twice before leaving their homes. If they do, they look over their shoulder for “man-hunting” patrols. Each patrol consists of police and conscription officers, groups of four to six officials that comb public areas such as subway stations, bus stops, shopping malls, city and town centers. They have also operated at rock concerts, nightclubs and pricey restaurants.
Al Jazeera has witnessed the work of several such patrols. Each time, the officers refused to comment and be photographed.
They approach any man in sight to check his ID and conscription document, a printout or a scan in a mobile phone that has a QR code.
The code gives access to the man’s “conscription status” in a central database.
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In May, the government launched Reserv+, an app allowing Ukrainians to update their conscription status from their mobile phones. Those who did not now face punishment – their driving licenses could be revoked or bank accounts frozen. If potential conscripts live abroad, consular services could be denied.
Violence and corruption There have also been multiple reports of violence towards potential conscripts. Frequent violent detentions and the denial of access to the lawyers of potential conscripts constitute human rights abuses, according to Roman Likhachyov, a lawyer and member of the Center for Support for Veterans and Their Families, a group in Kyiv.
(Al Jazeera)
Draft dodging breeds graft in Ukraine, a country that has been notorious for corruption.
Bribes vary, several men told Al Jazeera.
In some cases, $400 can be paid to a patrol team on the spot to let a man go.
In others, thousands of dollars can buy permission to flee the country or purchase a “white ticket”, a document that makes one immune to the draft.
In August 2023, Zelenskyy fired every regional head of conscription offices throughout Ukraine. Dozens more lower-ranking officers have been sacked and arrested for bribery.
Zelenskyy’s government has also tried to persuade Western nations that accepted hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees to deport each man of fighting age, but their governments refused.
Efforts to attract ethnic Ukrainians from the multimillion members of the diaspora scattered from Poland to Canada also failed.
The government’s enlistment campaign was “wrongly” outsourced to the army, according to Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, a former deputy head of the General Staff of the armed forces.
He believes the government should have started an awareness campaign to “explain, convince, engage the recruits”, but said that ultimately, “there are big problems to be solved”.
Potential conscripts should “realise that if there’s no one to defend [Ukraine], it will end badly for us all”, he told Al Jazeera.
Videos of Ukrainian men resisting detention at a rock concert in Kyiv have gone viral, as conscription patrol teams say they detained men with missing documentation to exempt them from the war., ...
On-Camera Shock: Zelensky’s Forced Recruitment Push in Ukraine
As Ukraine's war continues into its second year, alarming footage has surfaced showing men of fighting age being forcibly recruited by military patrols in public spaces. President Zelensky's leadership is facing growing criticism, with many questioning the morality and effectiveness of these forced conscriptions. Despite Zelensky's promises of a "victory plan," scenes of men being taken off the streets to replenish dwindling frontlines reveal a stark reality. As the war drags on, Ukraine's struggle for survival becomes ever more desperate, raising doubts about the path forward and Zelensky's ability to lead.
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