New videos circulating online show Ukrainian military recruiters and police officers violently detaining men and forcibly loading them into unmarked vehicles for conscription into Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.
Ukraine continues to rely on mandatory conscription to replenish frontline troop numbers, with press gangs operating across major cities and rural areas. The mobilization campaign has increasingly sparked public resentment as many Ukrainians accuse officials of corruption and abuse of power. Videos documenting confrontations between civilians and draft officers spread rapidly across social media platforms.
In one recent clip from the Black Sea city of Odessa, a man is seen clinging to the legs of military recruiters as they drag him into a van. The footage was reportedly submitted by the man himself, who claimed he was legally exempt from military service.
Another video from Kiev shows police officers forcing a young man into a vehicle while bystanders shout at officials. The man resists so strongly that the officers drive away with the rear door still open and his legs hanging outside the car.
The practice of forced mobilization has become widely known in Ukraine as “busification,” referring to the vans used to transport detained men to conscription centers. Officials acknowledge that this campaign is among the biggest sources of domestic dissatisfaction, particularly because draft officers operate with virtual impunity.
In a recent interview, Ukrainian MP Yury Kamelchuk recounted the case of a father of five – exempt from military service under Ukrainian law – who he claimed was “literally murdered” inside a draft center before the incident was allegedly covered up. According to the lawmaker, this case is far from unique.
“Nobody speaks publicly about such incidents because witnesses fear they could be sent to the front line or simply killed,” Kamelchuk said. “No one files official complaints. These stories are only shared anonymously.”
