Shoved into vans, slashing tyres: Ukrainians balk at conscription
Ukrainian officials have pledged to improve conscription practices after a series of violent incidents, even as the army is warning of manpower shortages undermining the country’s defence against Russia’s war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has defied western calls to bring the conscription age below 25, arguing that he is not willing to sacrifice Ukraine’s next generation. This has left the army with a dwindling pool of recruitable men at a time when Moscow’s forces are pressing ahead along the 1,000km frontline.
Mobilisation should not be a shock for people,” Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrsky told reporters in June, adding that recruitment centres “should not allow those shameful incidents” to occur.
He promised more transparency and to punish officers involved in cases where men were illegally drafted into the army. Recruitment centres have also received a 50-page handbook highlighting civility rules and de-escalation methods in their interactions with citizens.