NEW YORK, June 22. /TASS/. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian men have gone into hiding as they avoid conscription for fear of dying in the conflict involving "bloody trench warfare," The New York Times reported on Friday.
While it is not clear how many men are hiding from authorities, in big cities like Kiev and Lvov, social media groups alerting members to mobilization include tens of thousands of people, the newspaper wrote.
Ukrainian men expressed fear of dying in the conflict, the NYT continued. According to the newspaper, Kiev has been sending troops without "sufficient training" to the front to replace combat losses.
Military analysts agree that a lack of adequate training makes it difficult for Kiev to hold its lines, the newspaper concluded.
Ukraine announced a general mobilization in February 2022, which it has extended periodically ever since, with the country’s authorities doing their utmost to prevent men of conscription age from dodging the draft, including a ban on male residents of Ukraine from leaving the country. On May 18, a law tightening mobilization rules came into force in Ukraine, allowing hundreds of thousands more Ukrainians to be called up into the army.