Citizens are trying to avoid the draft using methods ranging from comical to horrifying
A Ukrainian military recruitment poster. © Andriy Andriyenko / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
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Ukrainian court has ordered the military to remove a citizen from the
list of potential conscripts after the person underwent gender
transition. Less drastic methods have also been employed by draft
dodgers amid the conflict with Russia.
She is not eligible, court rules
The
legal battle between conscription officials with enlistment quotas and a
person now legally female in Ukraine was highlighted by local media
last week, based on a ruling by a court in Kharkov in January.
The
decision orders military officials to remove the plaintiff, whose
identity was not disclosed, from the database of citizens eligible for
mobilization. The judge rejected arguments that only a military medical
commission could verify the transition.
There is no evidence the
gender change was done purely to evade service. Despite Western pressure
to promote LGBTQ rights, one cannot simply declare himself being ‘in
the wrong body’ and gain legal recognition and a spot on a female
swimming team in Ukraine.
But the story drew attention because mobilization is a painful issue
in a country whose military faces severe manpower shortages amid the
conflict with Russia, with two million people in hiding, according to
the Defense Ministry. Some men go to great lengths to avoid the front
line.
Breaching the border
One obvious path is fleeing the
country. The authorities regularly report busting human smugglers or
individual adventurers, some using spectacular means.
Last July, border guards caught a 30-year-old man wearing women’s clothes and a blonde wig heading toward Romania. In August, officials thwarted an escape attempt involving a paraglider. In December, a motorcyclist tried to storm through a checkpoint in a stunt worthy of Tom Cruise – but his mission was impossible.
But
in dozens of cases, the outcome was not inviting bad puns. This month,
border agency chief Andrey Demchenko reported that over 70 apparent
draft dodgers have died since 2022, most while trying to cross the Tisza
River along Ukraine’s border with Hungary and Romania.
Serving is for the poor
The
other option is money or connections, which go hand in hand in Ukraine.
Officials enjoy legal exemptions – as often do their children, nephews,
cousins, servants and associates.
One high-profile example emerged in the case against businessman
Timur Mindich, charged with running a $100 million kickbacks scheme in
the nuclear energy sector. Suspected accomplice Igor Fursenko – caught
on tape complaining how physically daunting he found carrying a box with
$1.6 million in cash – was shielded from conscription due to his
no-show job at FirePoint, a star weapons producer.
Unsurprisingly, the draft is widely viewed by Ukrainians as deeply unjust.
The last resort
Some
men facing ‘busification’ – the Ukrainian term for forced mobilization –
resort to violence. The authorities report an increase in attacks on
conscription officers.
A video from Dnepropetrovsk that went viral
this month showed a truck driver who nearly hit a draft patrol mobbing a
recruit in the middle of the street and then chased the officials with a
crowbar, allowing their target to escape.
This week a civilian
reportedly stabbed a conscription officer in Krivoy Rog while trying to
save his diabetic dad from busification.
Last week, Ukrainian
media shared a photo of a man in an Odessa hospital who reportedly tried
to cut off his own hand with a power tool to avoid service. If
accurate, avoiding conscription through self-mutilation is an option for
some men.