MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military leadership in charge of the mobilization process acts like a slave driver, thinking that it can whip people into doing whatever it wants, Verkhovna Rada deputy Georgy Mazurashu said.

"Military leaders responsible for this process, apparently, see themselves as some kind of slave owners. They think they can compel everyone to do whatever they want, that the ends justify the means," he told Ukraine’s Strana media outlet. The legislator suggested that, given the situation on the ground, the military may have a "rather significant influence on the political leadership as well."

He also noted that many Ukrainians who, according to surveys, support continued military actions, either reside abroad or think that others should do the fighting. Those who verbally support continued combat are pandering to the military leadership’s push to enlist people against their will.

Earlier, Mazurashu also criticized the actions of military recruiters, saying that they were essentially "hunting" humans.

General mobilization was announced in Ukraine in February 2022 and has been extended several times since then, with the authorities doing everything possible so that draft age men cannot evade military service. Military recruiters regularly conduct raids and use coercion and force, and even those unfit for military service end up being called up. Videos regularly appear on social media showing military officers trying to forcefully hand out call-up orders in the streets, in public transport, or in gyms, and many Ukrainian men, according to media reports, literally shun leaving their homes for months on end to avoid encounters with recruiters or try to leave the country, frequently risking their lives. Reports periodically emerge of men being beaten up at recruitment centers. On May 18, a bill on toughening mobilization rules came into effect allowing to recruit additional hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians.

Over recent months, Ukraine has been raising the issue of lowering the call-up age which is now 25.