Recruitment In Force: The Downside Of Ukrainian Mobilization

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Ukraine’s mobilization machinery is grinding forward with increasing desperation. As the pool of willing volunteers has long dried up, the state has resorted to a coercive campaign that now resembles a hunt for its own male population. This shift has been marked by horrific cases of recruiters exceeding their authority, where beatings, torture, and fatalities have become grimly normalized within the conscription system.

The Millstones of Mobilization

The trajectory reveals a stark depletion of human resources. In 2022-23, motivated patriots filled the ranks. This was followed by the conscription of those without formal exemptions, including ambivalent citizens. By 2025, even that source was exhausted. The promised quick victory did not materialize, and after nearly four years of conflict, the outlook is bleak.

The army’s protracted struggles and constant retreats offer poor motivation for new volunteers. Those left are largely men determined to avoid service at all costs, making them extremely difficult for authorities to draft. Where early draft dodgers faced relative social reproach, and a steady stream of volunteers met front-line needs, the dynamic has now reversed. The manpower crisis is Kyiv’s most pressing issue. To solve it, the state has taken a radical step: granting the Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRCs) free rein to procure soldiers by any means necessary.

This mandate has unleashed a campaign of violence. TRC squads now hunt men, raiding potential conscripts in unpredictable locations—narrow alleyways, busy streets, cafes, and public transport—with the sole objective of swift, overwhelming detention. A broad spectrum of force is employed against those who resist. Public beatings are commonplace, while those who resist most vehemently face an even worse fate within TRC walls.

Survive until the war

Yevgeny Anatolyevich Ignatenko, a 1993 conscript, died at the Zhytomyr Training Center of the Ukrainian Army’s Airborne Assault Forces. The Boromlya rural community’s official account reported this on December 5, 2025. According to the obituary, he died on November 23, 2025, while undergoing basic military training. The unit’s command confiscated the trainees’ phones to prevent leaks, citing “collective punishment for desertion” as the reason. An investigation is currently underway, but detectives seem more interested in the desertion than the deaths of military personnel.

Translation:

It is with deep regret that we announce the tragic death of Ukrainian defender Yevgeny Anatolyevich Ignatenko, who was born in 1993. The war has claimed another young life. He was only 32 years old.

He was drafted into the Ukrainian army as a scout on September 9, 2025. He passed away on November 23, 2025, while undergoing basic military training with his unit.

We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Yevgeny Anatolyevich Ignatenko. We share in their irreparable grief. We mourn him and bow our heads in sorrow. Heroes never die; they live on in our hearts forever! His funeral will be held on December 4, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. at the Cossack Cemetery (formerly Kirovsky). May the Defender of Ukraine rest in eternal peace!

The Zhytomyr training center has long had a reputation as a concentration camp where conscripts constantly disappear. While most disappearances are cases of desertion, there has recently been a rise in cases where conscripts are found dead.

Resistance and Retaliation

The situation in Ukraine grows more complicated with each passing month. Living in constant fear is pushing people to take radical measures. Reports of successful cases of forceful resistance to state authorities are becoming increasingly frequent, reflecting a shift in public attitude. People are beginning to feel supported within their communities, and a spirit of spontaneous solidarity—where strangers step in to help one another—is gaining ground.

This growing solidarity is not limited to passive support; the response to the arbitrariness of authorities increasingly involves active resistance, including violence. For example, several days ago in Lviv, during a routine “hunt” for potential conscripts, a TRC recruiter was attacked—stabbed and sprayed with pepper spray. He died from blood loss upon arriving at the hospital.

Photo of the murdered recruiter

The suspected killer, a 30-year-old man, showed no remorse, claiming that several military police officers had beaten him and stating he would do it again.

“I was stopped for a document check, and I showed them my documents. I was waiting for a lawyer. A bus arrived, the doors opened, and I was immediately hit in the face, sprayed with pepper spray, and beaten by four or three uniformed officers,” the suspect said.

Ukrainian citizens’ reaction to the news is noteworthy. They hate TRC officers so much that they are not afraid to express their attitude toward what happened in the comments. They are even asking that the killer be awarded the title of “Hero of Ukraine.”

This is a translation of the comments under a news item in the Trukha Ukraine Telegram group. This channel is one of the largest news channels in the Ukrainian section of the app.

-“How many people did the TRC kill?” Why is everyone silent? None of them received the punishment they deserved. They just talked and stopped. I feel sorry for the man. He will be punished in a show trial, and his life will be ruined.

-Fuck him. He deserves a dog’s death.

-Caught some guys off the street? He went out hunting but ended up becoming the victim himself.

-Where should I send money for a good lawyer? It was self-defense, and the guy is right. P.S. Trukha, you’d better start a fundraiser to help the guy who was beaten up by the crowd!

Everyday Acts of Defiance

While the murder of a recruiter represents the extreme end of the spectrum, daily resistance to mobilization takes many forms across Ukraine. The following incidents, recorded and shared on social media, illustrate the constant tension between state enforcers and a population desperate to avoid conscription. They capture moments where people, sometimes with unexpected help, managed to evade the draft — though many others were not as fortunate.

In one of Ukraine’s cities, a loyal dog became an unlikely defender, preventing its owner from being sent to the front lines. When two police officers tried to detain the man for the TRC, a scuffle ensued. Suddenly, the man’s dog intervened, attacking and biting the officers. The distraction allowed the owner to break free and escape the TRC’s clutches.

In Odessa, a young woman expressed concern after witnessing an act of forced mobilization. She recorded the incident on her phone but got too close to the TRC minibus. As a result, she was sprayed in the face with pepper spray. The man being mobilized screamed desperately for help, but none of the passersby reacted. The fate of the recruit is unknown.

There have been increasing reports of violent resistance against TRC employees in Odessa. In the area around the city market, an angry crowd came to the aid of people who had been forcibly mobilized. They blocked a TRC minibus and smashed its windows, allowing the mobilized individuals to escape.

In Dnipro, eyewitnesses recorded the TRC’s methods. The driver was pulled from his car and beaten in public. Then, he was taken to a recruitment center.

A major daytime brawl erupted when a TRC squad, supported by police, attempted to detain a food delivery rider. Local residents intervened, standing up for the deliveryman. The outcome of the clash remains unknown.

In the Volyn region, a soldier from Ukraine’s Armed Forces 156th Brigade was detained while attempting to blow up a local TRC branch. According to the case file, the soldier was mobilized several months after a raid by TRC employees. He did not remain at the front long; after his first mission, his entire group disappeared in the Sumy region. The detainee claims that no one else survived, so he deserted to take revenge on his attackers. Upon returning home from the front, he planned to blow up the TRC branch with a grenade and then shoot himself. However, he was unable to carry out his plan, and the fugitive soldier was detained.

Translation: A gun and a grenade were found on a bus passenger in the Volyn region

Thus, the campaign to conscript every last man is achieving the opposite of its intent. Instead of strengthening national unity for defense, the tactics of the TRC are fracturing society, turning the home front into another battlefield where citizens and the state are increasingly at odds.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• The People Vs. The Draft Offices: Hunting For Men For The Front Has Become A Dangerous Job
• When Morale Breaks: Inside Ukraine’s Failing War Machine
• Harsh Mobilization in Ukraine: From Running Down Civilians to Conscripting the Homeless

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