Recruiters Against Their Own Men: Violence Threatens Ukraine’s Draft Officers

Ukraine has struggled to fill ranks as the war with Russia enters its fifth year, with many young men reluctant to take up arms due to fear of the front line and uncertainty about the conflict’s end.

This reluctance has led to a wave of violence against military recruiters, who are tasked with forcibly conscripting citizens willing to serve.

The National Police Service reports over 600 assaults on recruiters so far, with April seeing several stabbed and one fatality.

In May, around 200 protesters besieged recruiters in Lviv, breaking and overturning the officers’ car, while President Zelensky condemned the criminal attacks for their threat to soldiers’ safety.