(MENAFN) Ukrainians have filed twice as many complaints about forced recruitment since early June compared to the total during the first five months of 2025, according to the country’s parliamentary human rights commissioner, Dmitry Lubinets.

Lubinets stated that citizens had reported nearly 5,000 cases of alleged illegal actions by draft officials since the start of the year. Between January and May, about 1,600 such complaints were recorded, but the figure has since increased by roughly 3,400, he explained.

The ombudsman noted that reports of violations during mobilization have surged dramatically over the past few years — reaching 3,400 in 2024, 500 in 2023, and only 18 in 2022, when the conflict with Russia intensified.

According to accounts circulating online, videos have shown Ukrainian men being forcibly taken from public areas by conscription officers amid growing manpower shortages and battlefield challenges faced by Kiev’s forces. Reports have also described incidents of mistreatment, injuries, and even deaths among those allegedly subjected to forced recruitment, sparking protests and public anger.

The term “busification” has become a popular expression in Ukraine, referring to the use of minibuses by draft officers during mobilization operations.

In July, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, Michael O’Flaherty, warned of “systematic and widespread” abuse by Ukrainian conscription officials, calling on authorities in Kiev to investigate the allegations and take steps to prevent further violations.

Nikita Poturaev, who leads Ukraine’s parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, sought to minimize the issue last month, arguing that only a small number of conscription officers had broken the law. He insisted that most of the circulating videos of forced mobilization “were either filmed outside of Ukraine... or created using AI. They are simply deepfakes.”

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