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In September, my 45-year-old nephew, a father to three girls, was apprehended by recruitment officers in his hometown in Ukraine. Within hours, he was dispatched, alongside many other detained men, to defend the frontline in eastern Ukraine. A month later, we learned that he was missing in action.
The last news of him was that he was seen trying to apply a tourniquet to the stump of his leg, which had been blown off in an explosion. The Russian forces were pushing forward, and the combat was brutal. I doubt my nephew had any real chance of surviving that chaos.
The Economist, referencing information gathered from other sources, reported that between 60,000 and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died in the conflict, with thousands of men missing in action. My nephew became one of them. How many more will suffer the same fate before the war concludes?
The current age range for military conscription is set between 25 and 60 years. However, some Western allies would rather see Kyiv reduce the recruitment age to 18. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed this viewpoint in a recent Reuters interview, stating that, "Right now, 18- to 25-year-olds are not in the fight."
At the moment, Ukraine has approximately 3.7 million conscripts, as many men of military age have departed the country, either legally, or more frequently, illegally. Those who remained are barred from leaving, and obliged to fight, irrespective of their personal wishes. The mobilization law is required to promptly update their personal data at military-run recruitment centers. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in criminal charges.
Instead of constitutional rights and freedoms, Ukraine has a martial law now, which effectively reduces citizens to a state of servitude. Men are restricted in their movement and stripped of their ability to make choices. At any moment, they could be separated from their families and thrown into a trench reminiscent of the Battle of the Somme, filled with filth and mice. Not everyone feels fighting in a war is their purpose in the 21st century. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government is trying to urge the nation to continue the struggle, even as its officials at all levels engage in corruption and deceit. Their unethical actions and lack of accountability provide justification for many to avoid military service, claiming a reluctance to support a corrupt system.
Prosecutors initiated 60,000 cases against soldiers who deserted their posts in 2024—almost double the number from 2022 and 2023. They simply do not want to sacrifice their lives and health in a war that heads toward its fourth year with little sign of an end in sight. Most of these men are not cowards; they simply reject the exorbitant cost of serving a government mired in corruption scandals.
Over the past six months, the recruitment of new soldiers has picked up speed, employing some pretty contentious tactics. It's now common in Ukrainian cities to witness burly guys from recruitment centers grab men in civilian clothes and drag them across the pavement while onlookers shout in protest.
Ukrainians have sarcastically dubbed "mobilization" as "busification" because recruitment officers often scoop up men from the streets and load them onto buses. This manhunt can get pretty rough, with reports of beatings and extortion of bribes. Overall, the situation feels far from what you'd expect in a civilized society.
The societal perspective on war creates divisions at a time when Ukraine requires unity the most. A survey conducted by the Razumkov Center in Kyiv revealed that almost 50 percent of participants believe there is no shame in avoiding military service," while approximately one-third disagreed. As the year progresses, this social discord appears increasingly intractable.
For those Ukrainians who have lost loved ones due to the war, other people's desire to return to normalcy evokes feelings of anger. Frontline soldiers contend that it would be just for the entire nation to collectively endure the dangers and challenges of wartime. While over half of Ukrainian civilians oppose capitulation, many express an unwillingness to engage in combat themselves.
My nephew, who was missing in action, never imagined he'd end up in the military. He wasn't the type to rush into battle, as he was afraid of pain and the sight of blood. I can still picture him as a little kid, crying over a splinter in his foot.
What must he have felt, trying to deal with the loss of his leg?
I doubt he will ever share those thoughts, even if he comes back someday from a battle he never chose to fight.
Sergey G. Maidukov is a writer.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
