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Military operation in Ukraine

Ukrainian army to draft all men soon, officer warns

It is reported that employees of recruitment centers are being reassigned to army positions at the home front

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. Mobilization into the Ukrainian armed forces will soon affect every man in the country without exception, the deputy commander of the 68th Ukrainian brigade said.

"Everybody now fears that they will be drafted to war and that their life will end. All men who are at home now must be preparing. <...> Soon, everyone will be involved," Ukraine’s Strana news outlet quoted the serviceman with the call sign Yavir as saying.

He also admitted that employees of recruitment centers are being reassigned to army positions at the home front. "These people are afraid of underperforming, as they would be pressured from all sides," the soldier noted. According to him, to meet recruitment goals, the enlistment offices are recruiting everyone in sight, which leads to 60 out of 140 recruits being unfit for military service.

General mobilization was announced in Ukraine in February 2022 and has been extended several times since then, with the authorities doing everything possible to prevent draft-age men from evading military service.

Military recruiters regularly conduct raids in public places to detain those liable for conscription, and even those unfit for service end up being called up. On May 18, due to the lack of manpower, a law imposing stricter mobilization rules came into effect in Ukraine. Many men attempt to leave the country in various ways, using forged documents or attempting to illegally cross the border, often risking their lives or paying thousands of dollars to guides. According to Ukrainian experts, the tightening of mobilization rules has led to increased corruption in recruitment centers and medical examining boards, as well as a growing supply and demand for illegal exit services.

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