Despite ongoing international discussions about a possible peace in recent months, forced conscriptions in Ukraine continue unabated. Judging by this, Ukrainian state policy does not appear to be preparing for peace. It is no great revelation to state what Ukrainians themselves openly acknowledge among one another:
that Ukraine has been held together by corruption for three decades. Without it, there would be no one to feed the bureaucrats who expect bribes for everything.
Since the war began in 2022, the situation has only worsened. Bribes are now required not just for basic services or paperwork, but also for avoiding the front lines. Everything has its price—even that. One could say that the extortion of ransoms has become an open industry.
Yes, in this country striving to join the European Union, conscription officers are now demanding ransom payments for abducted individuals—something more and more Ukrainian lawmakers are speaking about publicly. According to Artyom Dmitruk, a former Zelensky-aligned MP now living in exile in London,
between 2 and 4 billion euros annually flow into the pockets of the Ukrainian president and his inner circles through the exploitation of draft-age citizens.
Recruitment officers in Ukraine have also visibly grown wealthier. Many have purchased multimillion-euro villas in Western Europe. Another pro-government lawmaker, Julia Jacik, also spoke candidly about the phenomenon in a recent program. According to her, uniformed officials can easily afford it, as they can demand up to $5,000 per conscript to allow him to return home to his family. Jacik explained:
If you’re caught on the street, they’ll let you go for $500. But if you want to get out of the recruitment office, the fee jumps to $3,000. And if you’re already in the training camp, it’s $7,000. On top of that, if you want to legalize your release in the military registry, you’ll have to pay another $2,000 in the right places. Those are the going rates
– the Ukrainian delegate spelled out, in an interview. Recently, footage has also surfaced showing uniformed officers returning captured individuals to their families only in exchange for ransom. In Odessa, a city on the Black Sea, a surveillance camera recorded uniformed officers releasing a man they had detained only after his wife paid a ransom. The video clearly shows that Kyiv has given free rein to recruiters who act like local warlords. Mafia-style tactics and brutality dominate this “freedom- and democracy-filled” corner of the continent.
Many spend days imprisoned in conscription offices and report being abducted and held captive, even despite having proper exemption documentation. Even fathers of multiple children, who are legally exempt from service, are not spared. They too must pay, if they want to survive the war: in some areas, they face tariffs of several hundred dollars per month.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to money—the ransom that can be extorted from abducted victims so they can return to their families.
The recruiters, along with the police officers who collaborate with them—officers who are supposed to protect citizens—show no shame. Fathers are often taken straight from their children’s sides.
26,000 Frozen Bank Accounts
In Ukraine, lawlessness has become commonplace not just in military matters, as it is increasingly encroaching on civilian life as well. Through continuous militarization, Kyiv sends the message to its citizens that those who do not participate in defending the country deserve full exclusion from society. Those who have "voted with their feet"—by fleeing abroad through the mountains, across the fields, or by crossing the Tisza River—are being cast out of Ukraine’s future. High-profile commentators and members of quasi-military groups, presented as demigods in the media, often speak openly about this.
Ukrainian society refers to them as “barber warriors,” as they typically appear in brand-new uniforms, clean-shaven heads, and perfectly trimmed beards, while casticizing those who chose not to take part in the bloodshed.
Most recently, a member of the AZOV regiment, known as “Rollo,” declared that non-fighting men should be stripped of their civil rights.
According to recent reports in the Kyiv press, citing the Ministry of Justice,
banks have already restricted access to the accounts of 26,000 Ukrainian men for violating mobilization regulations. This means they cannot access their savings unless they report to conscription offices—something many see as a death sentence, given the prevailing rule: pay or fight.
Currently, six million men in Ukraine have yet to register for military service. Many are in hiding, while others have fled abroad. And there’s a very real possibility that, at Kyiv’s request, financial institutions may soon freeze their accounts too. As for what might happen to that money in the future—one need only look at the luxury Western cars speeding down Ukrainian roads.
Property and Land Can Be Seized in Uzhhorod District
Meanwhile, the Verkhovna Rada—Ukraine’s parliament—has passed a law that allows
anyone in the Uzhhorod district of Transcarpathia to be stripped of their land or property if the military deems it necessary.
It appears that even a country the size of half of Europe isn’t big enough, given that such legislation is being applied to a region that is partly inhabited by ethnic Hungarians and lies far from the front lines. According to reports in the local press, military facilities and weapons factories may be built on the confiscated lands. And decisions concerning expropriation cannot be appealed in court. The only real question is how much this decision, made in the slipstream of martial law, will end up benefiting those construction firms from eastern Ukraine that have all but overrun the regional capital of Transcarpathia in the past three years. Because in Ukraine, everything revolves around money — and the new law may be no different.
Cover photo: Ukrainian soldier (Photo: AFP)
