Sono un ufficiale ucraino della mobilitazione: la gente può odiarmi ma sto facendo la cosa giusta

It’s never right to force people into slavery.

Russia tries to attract willing combatants with high signing bonus, salary, etc.

It also helps to fight a righteous fight. There’s more North Korean volunteers than the entire international legion.

You need to give people something to fight for.

The country belongs to the people. They should choose whether they want to defend it or not. If the nation doesnt want to willingly defend their own land, then what the fuck is the point?

Unless the country belongs to the people in power, and the peasants are assets to be used. Thats another way of running things, but surely isnt the democratic way.

And yes, I am aware Europe will be next. But principles matter.

Impressment and press gangs in 21st century, who would have thought?

And some people want Ukraine to join the EU? I’m all for Ukraine’s cause, but brutal practices like this probably go against some basic human rights, right? How are these people effective fighters if they have 0 motivation for it?

Every morning, Artem signs on for work as one of Ukraine’s feared recruitment officers in his home town somewhere in the country’s war-torn East.
After a short briefing, his team decides where they will go: some are sent to cafés, restaurants, even nightclubs – anywhere where young men of fighting age might be found.
Then, the difficult work begins.
“Sometimes it’s like dealing with a cornered rat,” Artem told The Telegraph, as he explained how he gets his targets into vans and off to desperate military recruitment centres.
“They continue fighting even while in the vehicle. Those who resist always threaten to take revenge on our guys or their families,” he added.
Ukraine’s military is suffering a chronic manpower crisis as the Russian army advances at its fastest pace since the war began.
Washington is now pressing Kyiv to lower the mobilisation age from 25 to 18 to replace its battlefield losses and help withstand Russia’s offensive.
The country’s very survival depends on how many extra bodies Artem’s team can get to the trenches – and how fast.

Artem, who asked not to use his real name, works for the Territorial Centre of Recruitment and Social Support (TCC) – something he would not tell his family or friends.
The work of the TCC has been thrust into the spotlight by viral videos of men in camouflage stopping others on the streets and dragging them off to join the army.
Emergency recruitment has now turned into a game of cat and mouse, with sightings of TCC officers posted in online chat groups to warn refuseniks.
Young men in the chat groups secretly talk of limiting the number of times they leave their homes, and of avoiding subways and busy city centres where they might be captured.
TCC officers such as Artem are painted as brutal and ruthless kidnappers willing to go to extreme measures to reach their monthly quota of new military recruits.
Artem, a 28-year-old husband and father of one, agreed to speak to The Telegraph anonymously and under the condition his home town would not be revealed, for fear of reprisals.
TCC officers have responsibility for military conscription in Ukraine and must ensure all men in Ukraine of fighting age, currently 18 to 60, are registered for military service.
Many men in Ukraine are already registered in the country’s military database.
But others have been evading the requirement for nearly three years, hoping not to be enlisted, lest they come home from the front lines maimed or in a body bag, like so many of their compatriots.
Artem said that each morning, the TCC officers meet for their daily briefing before dispersing to various areas of his city to begin their work.
Some officers go to military checkpoints at key entries and exits from the city, while others patrol the streets and stop any men they encounter.
“Some teams move around the city by vehicle in constant search mode,” he said. “We have areas where our groups work almost constantly – mostly transportation hubs, but sometimes we leave these spots so people don’t become accustomed to avoiding them.”

The officers frequently work at market entrances, parks, beaches, cafes, and areas near factories or other businesses where men work, Artem said.
He confirmed he had targets to meet, and said: “Due to understaffing, we barely choose whom to stop – now nearly everyone is subject to inspection.”
When he first began working for TCC, Artem said, he did not stop men who appeared to be “visibly weak individuals” – but now he does.
“Almost always, adrenaline speaks for itself. Even those whose documents are in order still show fear,” he said.
Those with documents ordinarily have severe injuries that bar them from serving, are students or volunteers, or are working with international journalists.

However, at times, documents have been forged, and some men pay thousands of dollars to receive them. Artem’s team is responsible for verifying them.
After the men are rounded up into vans, Artem said, they are then forced to take a military medical examination. Those who pass are forced to a training centre to prepare to be sent to the front lines.
“Previously, we allowed people to go home and pack, but lately, they don’t return voluntarily. They hide and don’t show up. Sometimes, we have to confiscate their phones depending on the situation,” he said.
Some men have no way of telling their family and friends where they are. The Telegraph has received unverified Instagram stories from sources that show people frantically looking for anyone who might have been in contact with their loved ones recently, and adding that they are afraid that the TCC has abducted them.
One woman in Kyiv posted that she was searching for her ex-boyfriend, who had been missing for a few days. A few hours later, she posted a second story that she had found him – he had been forced to the front lines already.

On Telegram, a channel called “Weather Kyiv” where residents post recent sightings of TCC officers, has over 104,000 subscribers; these include images and videos of men dressed in camouflage, stopping men on the streets and writing them documents.
The subscribers claim the men are TCC officers and, several times a day, the channel posts where in Kyiv men should avoid. Red exclamation marks show where officers might be while sun emojis show alleged safe areas.
One man, who subscribes to Weather Kyiv and asked to be referred to as “Basiley”, told The Telegraph: “Men who have an age that is appropriate for military drafting are scared to walk freely in the street. If you go in the Kyiv subway, you will see youths under 25, people in military uniform, or elderly people, but not guys from 25 to 40, because we are scared.”
Basiley is 35 and said he avoids any unnecessary trips to Kyiv’s city centre. When Basiley leaves his home, he said he feels anxious, afraid of any large car moving slowly along next to him.

Speaking of TCC using force to send men to the military, Basiley said: “It’s a serious problem because people understand that this is a one-way road. We don’t have any specific limits of time that people have to serve in the military, and when you’re taken, it’s forever. In many cases, this bitter end happens very fast.
“You’re basically afraid to walk from your home,” he added.
Artem has been working as a TCC officer for more than one and a half years, and said he took the job because he enjoys “being part of the system”.
He said when he first started working with the TCC he felt pity and compassion for his targets.
“I’ve learned to control my emotions during work, and now it’s just a job for me. I always have the argument: It’s either them or me,” he said.
He added: “I believe it’s better to work for TCC than to hide from it.”

All of them are put in a horrid position in this war – the mobilization officer, the mobilized troops, the defectors, the families they leave behind. This war is horrible. Fucking Russia.

Ukraine should do what Finland did in winter war against russkies 1939. Form battalions of men from the same town, village, neighbourhood etc.. That way you have men fighting side by side with people they know. Their friends and probably relatives. They will fight like hell cause they know what they are fighting for. Downside to the strategy is if said battalion suffers heavy losses, the impact is horrendous back in the homefront.

Its not unique to Ukraine, the same thing would/will happen in western/Northern Europe too.

arent they like notoriously corrupt?

Why would anyone willingly go fight for their country/government that rots of corruption? The few people in power use the masses to continue their reign, be it Ukraine, Russia or any other country. If our mighty leaders are so hungry for money and power, why they don’t go 1 on 1 to settle their scores, without using the masses?

Of course, doing the right thing for your pocket. For each “kindly” mobilised person getting paid.

And USA dictating the conscription age, sad and pathetic. Kissinger once said: **”To be an enemy of the US is dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal”**

No wonder why many citizens are burning the conscription vehicles.

He confirmed he had targets to meet, and said: “Due to understaffing, we barely choose whom to stop – now nearly everyone is subject to inspection.”

I hope this war is over soon before Ukraines society collapses

Do you mobilize everyone fairly and indiscriminately, or do you only mobilize everyone else apart from your family and loved ones? This is important.

Russia is a terrorist state and fu-ck Putler. Ukraine will not give up a single inch of its territory.

it’s not for an officer to decide what’s right and what’s wrong anyway

So an actual military officer’s job is to force non-military people into the army? He could as well volunteer to join the army since he is already better trained then them, isn’t he?
But yeah, “its either me or them” – this is what one is calling “the right thing”.