Ukrainian citizens could face prosecution for spreading “misinformation” about Kiev’s mobilization efforts, or even for helping draft dodgers avoid conscription patrols, the military and a ruling party MP warned over the weekend.
Kiev overhauled the military system this year seeking to boost the draft, but the campaign has been undermined by public resistance. The military warned on Saturday that actions undermining conscription could result in criminal charges.
The Ukrainian army urged citizens to only share “official and verified information” about the campaign, claiming that lies aimed at derailing it are rife online. Any “manipulative interpretations” of the law or spreading of “untrue or compromising information,” including “opinionated statements without a rigid argumentative basis,” can result in punishment, the message warned.
The military claimed that it investigates all violations by draft officers in due order. Meanwhile, law enforcement will investigate “speculative” online speech that “makes allegations of purported illegal activities” by military personnel enforcing the draft.
Commenting on the warning on Sunday, MP Aleksandr Fedienko spoke about an imminent crackdown on social media, where draft dodgers and their supporters inform each other about mobilization raids. A person who reports online where a mobilization checkpoint is located could be identified by his phone number and “given a cautionary talk,” while people administering these channels could be criminally charged, the lawmaker told Kiev 24 news outlet.
Last week, a court in the western Ukrainian Ivano-Frankovsk Region passed a sentence on a local man, who in late 2022 and early 2023 published nine separate warnings about draft actions. The sentence cited by the media said that even though the defendant did not personally know any other members of the Telegram channel where he made his post, he was part of a conspiracy to undermine the military. The man, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to five years in jail, suspended by two years of probation.
Ukrainian officials are allegedly resorting to harsh tactics to meet their mobilization quotas, with videos circulating online showing people apparently being chased, tackled, and beaten by mobilization patrols. There have been a handful of cases in which the men did not survive being transported to draft centers. The military has blamed these deaths on various health conditions.
Last week, a businessman in Odessa Region was killed after a reported conflict with other entrepreneurs rendering services in enforcing mobilization. Private groups allegedly brutalize resisting draftees and connect them with corrupt officials seeking to offer protection for bribes.