Mobilization in Ukraine: search for potential recruits intensifies - The Economist
Date: 2024-04-29 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WAR
In Ukraine there are not enough fighters at the front, as a result of which mobilization efforts are intensifying. At the same time, the number of military service evaders is increasing. This is stated in the material of The Economist.
In particular, the publication’s journalists talked with several residents of Odessa. So, the bartender Alexander says: not wanting to leave his house, he is afraid that the military may knock on his door next.
"You can leave, but it's a one-way ticket. You can go to the front line, but it can also be a one-way ticket. Or you can stay here and live in fear," the man says.
24-year-old Vladislav also began the war as a convinced patriot. In the first months, he watched reports of Russian atrocities and felt a strong desire to fight. Then the men from his circle began to leave - they went east, to the front line. Friends, relatives, father and stepfather - all became military men.
Vladislav began to receive terrible news about the reality of war with too little ammunition. Many of his friends died. Now Vladislav’s family is urging him to stay away from the conscript officers who prowl the streets of Odessa. He listens to their advice and hides.
“It’s not because I’m afraid to fight, I’m afraid because I know what’s going on there,” the man said.
The publication notes that another challenge is the recent reduction in the minimum age for mobilization from 27 to 25 years.
"It was an urgent need for the military, which is struggling to hold the front line. Perhaps its most important provision is the requirement that all eligible men register in a new online database, increasing their vulnerability to conscription." , writes the publication.
