Hardly a day goes by in Ukraine without a new video or photo of the increasingly brutal mobilization appearing on the internet. Due to the state of war, freedom of the press is also restricted in the country, which is why most of the footage is uploaded to the Telegram or Viber messaging applications.
In Transcarpathia, a man was recently abducted from the street in broad daylight by police and conscription officers in a small village in Munkachevo district.
The man, on his way to a store, had no chance to escape, and he even had to leave his bicycle behind.
The Transcarpathia-based Viber messaging group Radar Zahid (Western Radar) has nearly 20,000 members. Military age men between ages 18 and 60 use it to signal to each other where the soldiers are issuing conscription orders. More and more mobile checkpoints are being set up in the region, manned by police officers, border guards, and also interior ministry and conscription officers.
At such checkpoints, or “block posts” as the locals call them, it is almost impossible to cross without receiving a "love letter" (conscription order) from the army.
Another video shows as a boy is being pushed against his will into one of the army's burgundy red minivans that are dreaded all across Transcarpathia. The person recording the video asked the boy not to leave it at that, but stand up for his rights and call the authorities. Despite that, he was taken away.
The abuses are not limited to Transcarpathia. A video recorded in Vinnytsia, between Kiev and Odessa, is circulating of local conscription officers forcibly pushing their victims into luxury cars.
The conscription officers do not even try to hide the fact that they drive luxury cars.
It is well known that conscription has become a hotbed of corruption over the last year and a half. In Ukraine, it is no secret that mobilization can be avoided in return for a bribe of several thousand euros. It is little surprise that the officers are making incredible fortunes.
Yevgeny Borisov, the commander of the Odessa conscription unit was found to have bought a huge villa on the Spanish coast for almost €4 million and a luxury car worth almost €200 thousand last year.
He has also bought his wife a chain of stores on the Costa del Sol. On top of all this, he enjoyed his holiday in his Spanish palace despite the fact that the borders have been closed to military age men for a year and a half.
Borisov's case led to public outcry in Ukraine. After nearly two months of inaction, President Volodymyr Zelensky himself had to declare that such figures had no place in the army. He even promised that all conscription offices would be subject to inspections.
Conscription officers of the Odessa region are known to be the most vicious and cruel in Ukraine. The Odessa region is also the area where most cases of forced conscription have been recorded.
Most recently, in Reni, near Odessa, uniformed officers fired rounds into the air after encountering resistance.
Another well-known method is that uniformed officers surround markets and do not allow young man to leave. Such actions often end in brawls. The authorities have also opened an investigation into the incident, which, if the suspects are found guilty, could lead to a sentence of up to seven years in prison.
Because of such incidents, few people are brave enough to resist conscription, so they have little chance of escape. Others are taken straight from their homes to the front.
Ukraine last extended its state of war and the corresponding mobilization order in May, until 24 August. Ukrainian men, however, can't breathe a sigh of relief even after that date, as the order is expected to be extended for another 90 days.
Cover photo: Ukrainian soldiers at Bahmut (Photo: EPA/Maria Senovilla)
