2022 Ukrainian mobilization

General mobilization in Ukraine was announced on February 24, 2022, in connection with the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine forbade men of military age to leave the country so that they could be called up to fight at any time. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also declared martial law. According to it, all men between the ages of 18 and 60 were considered liable for military service and could be mobilized if they didn't have the right to delay. At the same time, men who are subject to mobilization are prohibited from leaving the country. In the first weeks and months after the start of the Russian invasion, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens voluntarily joined the military structures, going to the front. This collective enthusiasm had a significant impact on repelling the first offensive of the Russian forces.

As the war with Russia drags on, Kyiv finds it increasingly difficult to find new soldiers to replace its troops on the front line in conditions of positional warfare, lack of progress on the battlefield, and tens of thousands of soldiers killed or wounded. This contributed to the escalation of tension between the Ukrainian military and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who in December 2023 warned that up to half a million people were expected to be mobilized in Ukraine.

With the progress of the mobilization process, more and more men are avoiding conscription, and there are calls for the demobilization of those who have been on the front line for an extended period. According to the Ukrainian authorities, approximately nine thousand criminal cases have been initiated regarding the evasion of mobilization.

The mobilization process in Ukraine is accompanied by the widespread distribution of draft notices in public spaces and the emergence of conflicts between personnel at territorial recruitment centers (TRCs) and citizens. There have been reports of individuals being arbitrarily detained on the streets and transported to shopping malls, even without being issued with draft notices.

As the recruitment efforts intensified, disturbing incidents began to surface on social media, involving officers forcibly removing men from trains and buses and sending them to the front. Some individuals with sufficient financial resources attempted to evade service by purchasing medical exemptions. By the end of summer 2023, these instances of corruption had become so prevalent that on August 11, President Zelensky decided to dismiss the heads of recruitment offices in all regions of the country.