MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/. Nearly half of Ukrainians sympathize with their fellow citizens who attempt to dodge military service, according to a poll conducted by the Razumkov Center at the request of the Zerkalo Nedeli media outlet.
According to the poll results, as many as 45% of the respondents said that there is no shame in dodging army service. Twenty-nine percent held the opposite viewpoint and 25% found it difficult to answer.
Among those who have a negative attitude toward draft evaders, 37% are elderly people, while half of the respondents aged from 18 to 29 and more than half of those aged from 50 to 59 (52%) have opposite attitudes.
The poll was conducted among 2,027 respondents in a period from June 22 through 28. The margin of error is within 2.3%.
The poll did not involve the military, so it reflects "the opinion of the rear," Zerkalo Nedeli noted.
General mobilization was announced in Ukraine in February 2022 and has been extended several times since, with the authorities doing everything possible so that draft-age men cannot evade military service. Men of the draft age are banned from leaving the country (with few exceptions) and those who want to be granted draft determent need to have a package of documents confirming their right to this. According to the Ukrainian media, many men now choose not to leave their homes for months or flee the country, legally or illegally, out of fear of being forcibly dragooned into the army and sent to the combat zone. Videos of drafting young men by force surface on Ukrainian social networks regularly.