Ukraine: Forced recruitment, a human catcher reveals

Recruiting conscripts is a sensitive issue for Ukraine. Fewer and fewer men simply report to the relevant recruiting office and allow themselves to be drafted. The government is countering this with draconian measures. Conscription officers capture men on the street. For a long time, the operations were denied or at least hushed up, although countless videos documenting the brutal actions are circulating. Now the British Telegraph was able to speak to one of Zelensky’s man-catchers.

He describes how the men plan their operations. How they storm cafes, restaurants and nightclubs and appear wherever they suspect young men to be. However, they also reacted. Some people no longer leave the house. A side effect: Dating has virtually come to a standstill, at least with locals. Some are at the front, others don’t want to go.

The conservative paper always supports free Ukraine, but does not sugarcoat the brutal practice. The officer wanted to remain anonymous and is named Artem in the piece. “Sometimes it’s like dealing with a cornered rat,” Artem told the Telegraph, describing how he drags his “victims” into vans and takes the desperate to military recruiting centers. “They continue to fight even when they are in the vehicle. Those who resist always threaten to take revenge on our boys or their families.” Artem hides his activity from family and friends. He and his comrades are feared, he admits. Even “those whose papers are in order are always afraid.”

If they manage to capture men, they are put into transports and forced to undergo a military medical examination, then sent to a training center. In fact, the prospective soldiers are imprisoned like criminals. Once they’ve been grabbed, you can’t let them escape. “People used to be allowed to go home and pack their things, but lately they don’t come back voluntarily. They hide and don’t show up. Sometimes, depending on the situation, we even have to take away their phones.”

Artem isolates himself emotionally. “I learned to control my emotions at work, and now it’s just a job to me.” And then a tell-tale sentence comes out: “I always have the argument: either she or me.” Not that the prisoners would kill him, but if Artem didn’t work as a recruiter, he would have to go to the front himself.

Despite the draconian measures, there are not enough recruits. On the one hand, there are groups of people who are exempt from compulsory military service, and then there are false certificates that protect you from service with a fake illness. And there is a game of cat and mouse going on. The potential victims use internet groups to warn each other. The emergency services are filmed and their location is reported. Because they are in uniform and always use vans, they are easy to spot. Some of the vehicles are set on fire at night. Individual victims run away. Others come to the rescue of women. Things can also be dangerous in rural areas: Videos show that it is not a good idea to arrest loggers in the mountains.

The recruitment challenges reveal a central problem in Ukraine. It cannot raise enough fresh soldiers. There are repeated calls for the men, who have been fighting for almost three years, to be released. That seems completely impossible. The veterans are tired, but far stronger than the new recruits. Those recruited in this way are only given basic training and equipment. Some of them are sent to the front after just a few days. Your chances are slim.

In November, the market and opinion research institute Gallup published a survey about Ukrainians’ attitudes to the war and possible peace negotiations. It says: “After more than two years of grueling conflict, Ukrainians are increasingly weary of war with Russia. In Gallup’s most recent polls in Ukraine, conducted in August and October 2024, an average of 52 percent of Ukrainians want that “Their country is negotiating an end to the war as soon as possible. Almost four in ten Ukrainians believe that their country should continue fighting until victory.” In 2023, according to Gallup, 63 percent of those surveyed were of the opinion that Ukraine should continue to fight, now it is 38 percent. But the majority of 38 percent are not prepared to take up arms themselves. If they volunteered, there would be no need for men like Artem.