In Chaotic Ukraine, It's All About Money, With Nearly 30,000 Bank Accounts Frozen

In Ukraine, hardly a day goes by without dozens of new forced-conscriptions videos appearing on local social media. The manhunts continue even as major powers are already negotiating possible peace. Meanwhile, Kyiv has frozen the bank cards of nearly 30,000 men in hiding for violating mobilization rules. A new parliamentary law allows for anyone in the Uzhhorod district of Transcarpathia to be stripped of their property or land if the military demands it.

Ukrainian soldier (Photo: AFP)

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)