Ukraine
Mounting Resistance to Forced Conscription
Opposition in Ukraine to forced conscription is becoming more widespread, news agencies report, with state violence being met with equally forceful resistance. In the second half of April, the terror unleashed by military recruiters across Ukraine intensified sharply. It is a daily war by the Ukro-nazi regime against Ukrainians that is growing increasingly brutal with each passing month. Media reports indicate several military recruiters have been killed of late and there are many more cases of resistance to forcible detentions. Recruiters are now conducting "manhunts" in large, armed groups, concealing their faces in the manner of criminal attacks by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States.
Artem Dmitruk, a former member of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's party, recently posted on Telegram: "The recruiters are simply people trying to kill you, and it is your duty to defend yourself and survive. They have no rights or authority. They are simply Zelenskyy's killers, aiding and abetting a genocide against the Ukrainian people." He spoke of video clips showing women being beaten and gassed by "recruiters" for stepping in to resist forcible conscription of a man on the street and another of a man being beaten then detained by hoodlum "recruiters."
Military conscription in Ukraine has become a lucrative business. In April, Ukrainian media published the military commissariats' "price lists" for evading conscription, citing specific cases from different regions. The cheapest option is to have one's name removed from the recruiters' wanted list. The price ranges from a price equivalent to U.S.$2,000, while the most expensive is to purchase a fake disability authorization to leave Ukraine entirely. This can cost up to U.S.$50,000.
Bribery, protection money and outright theft by recruitment officers and agencies is widespread. One officer with the Bucha Territorial Military Commissariat in the Kiev region declared his wealth as including more than one kilogram of gold bullion, equivalent to U.S.$175,000 of wealth, plus currency, gold in jewelry, and expensive cars, acquired from what he called "savings."
This article was published in
Volume 56 Number 5 - May 2026
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/TML2026/Articles/MS56059.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca