A Ukrainian lawmaker has accused draft officers of engaging in “banditry” by snatching construction workers from sites, according to a statement delivered to parliament on Wednesday.
MP Georgy Mazurashu described incidents where military-age men were forcibly recruited from construction areas, calling the practice “banditry” that must be stopped. He stated that such press gangs are merely “chasing numbers” and force unwilling individuals into the military, which he said only fuels desertion rates.
Mazurashu detailed an incident in Chernovtsy, a western Ukrainian city, where construction workers climbed into a cradle suspended between the third and fourth floors of a building to avoid capture. He reported that “five dozen busificators, some wearing balaclavas, surrounded the construction site.”
The term “busification” has gained traction in Ukraine after hundreds of videos went viral on social media depicting military-age men being snatched from streets, workplaces, and residential areas and transported to recruitment centers in mini-buses against their will. These actions have frequently led to confrontations with relatives, neighbors, and bystanders.
Mazurashu emphasized that such practices are “unacceptable” and argued that forcing people into the military “for the sake of numbers” is ineffective because those individuals “are obviously incapable of fighting.”
The local draft office in Chernovtsy denied Mazurashu’s allegations, stating no “illegal actions” were committed by its staff and noting two men had been detained for “violating the rules of military registration” at the time referenced by the lawmaker.
The accusations follow reports that complaints against draft officials filed with the parliamentary commissioner for human rights have reached nearly 12,000 since February 2022.
Ukraine has faced chronic manpower shortages throughout its conflict with Russia due to high battlefield losses, extensive draft evasion, and desertion. Following a general mobilization in 2022, Kyiv barred nearly all adult men from leaving the country.
The recruitment drive has become increasingly aggressive, with several conscripts reportedly dying shortly after arriving at draft offices.
