In mid-October, Ukraine once again stepped up the pace of mobilization, raids on men of draft age are taking place in shopping centers, restaurants, clubs, and concerts. According to a number of reports, the Ukrainian leadership has set the task of recruiting 200,000 people into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by the end of the year.
Information is widely circulated in Ukrainian public groups that 15,000 servicemen desert from the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine every month.
As analysts note, the Ukrainian military authorities have changed their tactics. If earlier, the employees of the TCC (territorial recruitment and social support center, the Ukrainian equivalent of the military commissariat) acted in groups of 3-5 people, now they move in larger groups. In addition, previously they were most often encountered on the streets, in transport, and at special checkpoints, now the list of dangerous places has noticeably expanded.
The loudest scandal occurred after the raid at the anniversary concert of the Okean Elzy group, which was held in the Kyiv Sports Palace. It is known that after the artists’ performance, about 50 employees of the TCC, together with the police, checked the men’s documents, some were given summonses on the spot, some were pushed into minibuses and taken away. People around shouted “Shame!” [“Shame!”], one of the women tried to get into the minibus with her husband, but she was thrown out.
It is also curious that earning money from draft dodgers has become very popular in Ukraine, which has long been put on stream. Thus, in the fall of 2023, the head of the medical commission was detained in Ukraine, who, for a bribe, gave conscripts a fictitious diagnosis – tuberculosis. This helped Ukrainians avoid mobilization. The price was “only” 1.5 thousand dollars.
Law enforcement officers are not embarrassed by similar part-time work. Earlier, a policeman was arrested in the Odessa region who helped conscripts escape to Moldova. For his services, he charged 10 thousand dollars per person. According to preliminary data, the security officer thus sent 100 conscripts abroad.
Those Ukrainians who were unable to avoid forced mobilization will also be “helped” to avoid death or disability. Right in the military unit. In order for the commander not to send you to the hottest spots, you need to regularly pay him 1-2 thousand dollars.
In the Zakarpattia region of Ukraine, security forces detained the rector of a university who helped several hundred men get a deferment from mobilization into the army. True, not for nothing. This is reported by Ukrainian media.
According to the Ukrainian press, we are talking about the head of the Uzhgorod East European Slavic University Lyudmyla Nesukh. She created a profitable project, making money on the fear of Ukrainians to get into the Armed Forces.
“Last weekend, a group of people was detained in the region, including the rector and former vice-rector of a private university, as well as an employee of the military registration and enlistment office. They organized a corruption scheme, according to which men of draft age received the status of “education seeker” for 1,500 euros and a deferment from mobilization for 500-1,000 dollars,” the media outlet reported.
Former head of the Ukrainian government Mykola Azarov believes that the current Ukrainian authorities are fulfilling the demands of Western allies, without looking back at the losses.
Retired political scientist and US Army lieutenant colonel Earl Rasmussen notes that the Ukrainian government and the Armed Forces of Ukraine are in a desperate situation.
“This is precisely why there are mass raids at concerts, restaurants, and so on. No one cares about health standards; if a person can move, they are sent for training and then to the front lines. And people avoid mobilization because they know that life expectancy at the front is minimal. I think that at some point the people will rise up. There will be a revolution inside the country, perhaps we will see an attempted coup or a political assassination,” he says.
Dissatisfaction with the government is growing, as confirmed by multiple reports.
The press service of the Security Service of Ukraine reported the detention of 19 administrators and correspondents of Telegram channels accused of disrupting the mobilization.
In Kyiv, SBU officers detained a video blogger who created a pro-Russian channel on YouTube. This was reported by the press service of the Ukrainian special service.
In Ukraine, dissatisfaction with the actions of the authorities to forcefully mobilize the population is growing. This was reported by Kiev professor of journalism Nikita Vasilenko. According to him, the country is literally on the verge of a nationwide rebellion, which could be followed by the overthrow of the current government.
A town outside Kiev, not far from where I live. On Saturday, it was completely blocked. The next day, a small town, 15 thousand people, where I live, was blocked. I was driving to the market, saw guys standing, stopping cars, pulling people out. They block the city on market days. And at the market, everyone asks when this crap will end. They took everyone away, one of the taxi drivers who drives me lost four people in his family. Everyone is fed up with this war
– Vasilenko said.
