MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. A covert mobilization of women has begun in Ukraine, affecting medical workers and pharmacists, a pro-Russian underground resistance source told TASS.

"Officially, they keep repeating the same thing about women - that everything remains voluntary. However, the picture on the ground is different. Document checks of women are already underway, territorial recruitment centers are compiling lists, and universities and employers are providing data, first and foremost on medical workers and pharmacists. Officially, they call it registration. In essence, it is covert mobilization, though without an announcement. Women will not be sent to the front line by force for now, but the mechanism is already being tested, and people are gradually being conditioned to think that it is only a matter of time," the source said.

General mobilization has been in effect in Ukraine since February 2022 and has been repeatedly extended. Initially, men aged 27 to 60 were subject to conscription, but the mobilization age was lowered to 25 in April 2024. A law tightening mobilization rules took effect in the country on May 18 that year.