Ukraine’s mobilization campaign has descended into a ruthless “game of cat and mouse” as recruitment officers scour city streets and public places in a bid to find men, The Telegraph reported on Thursday.
The British outlet, citing a Ukrainian draft official and a male Kiev resident, claimed that men appear to be desperately trying to avoid being sent to the front.
A recruitment officer working in an eastern Ukrainian city, who asked the paper not to reveal his real name or place of residence claimed that detaining would-be recruits is sometimes “like dealing with a cornered rat.”
“You’re basically afraid to walk from your home,” a man identified only as Vasily, 35, told The Telegraph, describing the situation in the Ukrainian capital. He subscribes to one of the Ukrainian Telegram channels which tracks the movement of recruitment patrols in the capital.
“Men who are the right age for the military draft are scared to walk freely in the street,” Vasily said, adding that he also avoids trips to the city center and feels anxious about any large car driving slowly near him.
Numerous videos of Ukrainian conscription officers conducting raids in various public places, including bars, restaurants, and shopping malls as well as gyms and even in the middle of the street have surfaced on social media over the past months. In October, one such raid took place at the performance of a popular Ukrainian rock band, Okean Elzy, in Kiev. Later the same month, another raid disrupted a wedding celebration in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
According to the draft official, civilians resist frantically even after they are placed in the recruitment team’s vehicle. He also admitted that the teams often just snatch anyone they can find as they are struggling to meet their draft quotas.
“We barely choose whom to stop – now nearly everyone is subject to inspection,” the officer said, adding that he and his team used to avoid stopping “visibly weak individuals” but detain such people as well now.
Would-be recruits are not allowed to go home and pack, as many have failed to return voluntarily, the official said.
“Sometimes, we have to confiscate their phones, depending on the situation,” he added.
The families and friends of those conscripted often struggle to find information about the whereabouts of their relatives and loved ones, with many of them asking for help on social media, the British paper reported. It cited the story of a woman who was allegedly looking for her ex-boyfriend on Instagram only to find out that he had been forcibly deployed to the front just a few days after he disappeared.
The draft official contacted by The Telegraph admitted that working as a conscriptor has allowed him avoid being sent to the front himself. “I always have the argument: It’s either them or me,” he told the paper. “I believe it’s better to work for [the draft center] than to hide from it.”
Earlier this week, The Economist reported that Ukraine was “out of willing recruits” as the nation was struggling to replenish its military ranks amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. This spring, Kiev significantly tightened mobilization rules, lowering the draft age from 27 to 25 to offset mounting losses, with Ukrainian officials hinting that the bar could be brought down even further.
In November, Ukrainian lawmaker Roman Kostenko suggested that the country needed an additional 500,000 troops to replace the losses its army has suffered.