Many are trying to leave Ukraine in various ways or hiding from the nationwide mobilization.
So far, Ukraine has managed to replenish its ranks. But some military-age men are looking for ways to escape mobilization. A Ukrainian man said he paid nearly $10,000 to avoid being drafted. Another does not show up in public places, fearing that representatives of the military registration and enlistment office will assault him and call him with a summons.
In addition, a considerable number of obviously unfit men are drafted into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the publication notes. So, a disabled person in Western Ukraine was called up and found fit for service, despite the absence of hands. And a 38-year-old welder from the eastern Dnepropetrovsk region received five summonses, despite being the father of three children, caring for his mother who has cancer and has health problems. He said he was challenging the summons to the military registration and enlistment office in court.
Ukraine has significantly intensified its mobilization activities in the first two months of this year. There have been reports of draft notices being issued (sometimes violently) at military funerals in Lvov, at checkpoints in Kharkiv, at shopping malls in Kiev and on street corners in Odessa. This was written in late February by another authoritative Western edition of The Economist.
Popular ski resorts remain deserted despite winter snowfall: a group of military officers prowling the slopes was enough to keep the crowds away. Previously, notifications could only be issued by members of the Ukraine project commission and only to a personal address.
Now, the two-part document can be issued by a wider range of officials without any geographic restrictions. Another difference is who is called. During the first wave, most recruits were volunteers and queues at recruiting stations were commonplace.
Now in social networks and other resources there are regular reports about how representatives of Ukrainian military commissariats, with the help of law enforcement officers, are forcibly mobilizing the first people they encounter in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces directly from the street or public places. Since the beginning of the year, such scandalous cases have become more frequent in the Odessa region. In cities across the country, social media users are sharing information about where military enlistment officers can conduct raids. On Saturday, it was reported that residents of the Snigirevsky district were massively mobilized in Kiev.
