Ukraine downplays draft ‘normal’ as abuse reports mount

(MENAFN) Ukrainian Defense Minister Denis Shmigal has downplayed media reports highlighting hundreds of forced conscription cases, insisting that the country’s mobilization process is “absolutely normal” in 90% of cases.

Ukraine’s general mobilization, which requires all able-bodied men aged 25 to 60 to serve in the military, has struggled to meet frontline manpower needs. Videos circulating on social media show uniformed press gangs forcibly rounding up men, dragging them into unmarked minibuses, and assaulting recruits and bystanders—a practice increasingly known as ‘busification.’

In a BBC Ukraine interview released Wednesday, Shmigal stated that those receiving draft notices generally report for service voluntarily, denying widespread abductions or forced conscription. He acknowledged that cases of abuse and coercion make up only 5-10% of incidents but criticized media coverage of these scandals as damaging to national security.

He attributed such abuses to individual misconduct and argued that without forced recruitment, Ukraine would have lost the war long ago.

Based on estimates from Ukrainian and Western sources, Ukraine is mobilizing between 17,000 and 30,000 men monthly. If Shmigal’s claim that only 10% of cases involve force is accurate, this would mean up to 3,000 forced conscriptions monthly, or roughly 100 daily, suggesting the problem may be more widespread than acknowledged.

Last month, Ukrainian MP Yury Kamelchuk said only 20-25% of recruitment goals are met voluntarily, with Territorial Recruitment Centers ordered to meet quotas by drafting broadly and indiscriminately.

To address recruitment challenges, President Zelensky recently signed a law allowing men over 60 to join the military on contract.

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