LONDON, February 21. /TASS/. People in Ukraine are beginning to consider it more shameful to serve in the army than to hide from conscription, The Times reported, citing a Ukrainian battalion commander.

"What will destroy us is not the Russian army, but people within [our country]," he said. "Right now, it's already seen as shameful to be in the army, rather than in hiding. Some people are starting to say that their enemy is not Russia, but those who take them into [our] army," the serviceman noted.

Since February 2022, Ukraine has declared and repeatedly extended a general mobilization. The authorities are doing everything possible to prevent men of draft age from evading service. Ukrainian social media regularly publishes footage of violent mobilization and conflicts between citizens and military registration office employees in various cities. Due to a critical shortage of personnel, the army is conducting raids in public places. Men of draft age are trying by any means to leave the country, often risking their lives.