Ukrainian men report cases of misconduct, non -professional medical commissions and tactics of coercive mobilization.
While the Ukrainian military faces the growing mortality and the pathoric situation on the battlefield, army recruiters are becoming increasingly aggressive in their attempts to replenish the ranks, in some cases taking away men from the streets and delivering them to conscripts with the use of intimidation and even physical strength.
The recruiters selected passports, took people from work and, at least in one case, tried to send a person with mental disorders for military training, according to lawyers, activists and Ukrainian men who were victims of coercive tactics. Video on which soldiers push people in a car and keep men against their will in conscription points, and are increasingly appearing on social networks and in local news.
Hard tactics are applied not only to those who evade the call, but also to men who are usually exempted from service, which indicates the serious challenges faced by the Ukrainian military in support of the army in war with large losses and against a much more numerical enemy.
Lawyers and activists say aggressive methods go far beyond the powers of the recruiters, and in some cases are illegal. They indicate that, unlike law enforcement officers, recruiters have no right to detain civilians, not to mention the compulsory conscription for the army. Men who receive summons are obliged to appear in the military enlistment office.
This unconventional tactic has led to a number of court cases this fall, since men challenge, in their view, unlawful summons, unprofessional medical commissions and forced mobilization; Only in November 226 court decisions related to mobilization were made, according to open sources.
The situation is complicated by the fact that Ukraine has been in a state of war since Russia's invasion in February 2022; Some lawyers claim that this has created the basis for subjective interpretation - and abuse - the laws on mobilization.
"The military is experiencing impunity," said Tatiana Fepchak, a lawyer who heads a public organization that represents the interests of men in cases of conscription for military service near the city of Chernivtsi in western Ukraine. She believes that some tactical techniques violate Ukrainian legislation.
Whatever the court decision may be, more and more aggressive tactics of a conscript campaign reminds that servicemen are the most vital and limited resource of Ukraine. They are also a degree of cruel impact on citizens for almost 22 months of bloody fighting.
