"Individual military units compete for potential recruits and lure them with catchy slogans, witty campaigns, text messages and social media posts that promise thorough training that reduces the risk of getting killed or jobs behind the front line. Many Ukrainian men of fighting age 25 to 60 who cannot refuse the draft choose to join them."
"There's zero training. They don't care that I won't survive the very first attack, Tymofey, a 36-year-old office worker who was forcibly conscripted last year but broke out of two training centres, told Al Jazeera."
"Hundreds of thousands of men dodge the draft, pay bribes to flee abroad or illegally cross into European nations amid corruption and coercion on the part of conscription officers, as documented by government officials, media and rights groups."
Ukraine faces a critical conscription crisis as casualties mount along the 1,250-kilometer front line. Individual military units now compete aggressively for recruits using creative advertising campaigns, social media, and promises of training and safer positions. Men aged 25-60 face mandatory conscription, with those forcibly drafted often receiving minimal training before deployment as assault troops with high casualty rates. Hundreds of thousands evade the draft through various means including bribery, illegal border crossings, and fleeing abroad. This contrasts sharply with the initial invasion period when volunteers eagerly sought enlistment. Conscription officers employ coercion and corruption, while those forcibly drafted report inadequate preparation and high mortality risks.
#ukrainian-conscription-crisis #military-recruitment-campaigns #draft-evasion #military-training-shortages #wartime-personnel-shortage
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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