Several recruitment officers have ended up in the hospital after a violent confrontation with a „group of civilians” in Odesa, the regional military commissariat announced.
The officers were escorting a man who had violated the provisions regarding military registration when they were attacked by an unspecified number of civilians who exerted „aggressive physical pressure” on them, the Odesa regional recruitment center announced on Facebook.
The group of civilians used physical force and tear gas against the military personnel, causing them various types of injuries, including chemical burns to the cornea, as stated by the source cited by Kyiv Independent. A military vehicle and several video cameras were also damaged.
„Instead of complying with the legal requirements of the representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the crowd engaged in mass obstruction of state activities in the field of mobilization preparation,” communicated the Territorial Recruitment Center of the Odesa region.
No details were provided regarding the number of officers injured or the severity of the injuries sustained. Additionally, no arrests were reported, and the complete details of the incident are not very clear, as mentioned by the cited publication.
### Kiev Accused of Aggressive Recruitment
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several incidents involving officers and recruitment centers in various parts of Ukraine have occurred.
Ukraine has intensified its mobilization efforts, and recruitment offices are often accused, sometimes rightfully, of forced recruitment without respecting fundamental civil rights, as well as mistreatment of recruits.
Representative for Human Rights in Ukraine, Dmitro Lubinets, informed the Ukrainian parliament on February 9 that in 2025 he received 6,127 complaints regarding possible violations committed by recruitment officers. The number of complaints is nearly double compared to 2024 when Lubinets received 3,312 calls. In 2023, 514 individuals filed similar complaints, compared to just 18 in 2022.
Kiev’s mobilization campaign became aggressive in 2023 when recruitment officers started to oversee funerals and patrol ski resorts in search of men avoiding conscription, according to The Economist.
In 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) blocked dozens of Telegram channels that were helping Ukrainian citizens of conscription age to avoid military service. Additionally, Ukrainian army recruitment officers, accompanied by police, conduct raids in restaurants and bars, checking military registration documents and making arrests.
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According to the law, all Ukrainian men between 25 and 60 years old are eligible for recruitment, and those between 18 and 60 years old are not allowed to leave the country. Ukraine has lowered the minimum conscription age from 27 to 25 years, and penalties for non-compliance have been increased.
### Russia Adds Fuel to the Fire
Moscow has exploited controversies related to mobilization, often using propaganda to contribute to escalating social tensions in Ukraine and further complicating Kiev’s recruitment actions.
The lack of personnel on the front line has impacted Ukraine throughout the war. Although Ukraine adopted a significant bill in April 2024 for reforming the recruitment system, mobilization has significantly slowed compared to the early stages of the large-scale invasion.
Last summer, Russian forces launched several attacks on recruitment offices in the cities of Krivoi Rog, Poltava, Kremenciuk, Kharkov, and Zaporizhia, affecting infrastructure and causing civilian and military casualties. These attacks were seen as an escalation of Moscow’s tactics, aimed at disrupting Ukraine’s mobilization efforts and fueling social unrest.