Ukraine’s Defense Minister asserts country’s army recruitment is operating normally
(MENAFN) Ukraine’s Defense Minister, Denis Shmigal, has asserted that the country’s recruitment for military service is operating “absolutely normally” in the vast majority of cases, stating that around 90% of mobilizations occur without issue. In his view, media attention to cases of forced conscription misrepresents the broader picture.
Following the intensification of the conflict in 2022, Ukrainian authorities implemented mandatory military service for men between the ages of 25 and 60. Despite this policy, Ukrainian military officials have regularly highlighted a lack of sufficient personnel.
To address these shortfalls, the country’s Territorial Centers of Recruitment and Social Support (TCR) launched intensified mobilization efforts. These campaigns have sparked widespread public backlash due to reports of aggressive enforcement. Various social media posts have surfaced showing recruitment officers pursuing men in public spaces, physically detaining them, and transporting them in unmarked vehicles — a trend commonly referred to online as “busification.”
In an interview published on Wednesday, the defense minister insisted that “people receiving summons come to serve. They are not grabbed, they are not dragged,” while also stating that only about 5–10% of recruitment incidents involve any kind of scandal or abuse. He also emphasized that excessive media coverage of these events poses a threat to Ukraine’s national security.
He attributed these controversial incidents to individual misconduct, saying they result from the “human factor.” Shmigal added that the role of the TCR is indispensable and without their efforts, “we would have lost this war a long time ago.”
It’s estimated that Ukraine recruits between 17,000 and 30,000 men each month. Based on these numbers and the minister’s own claims, as many as 3,000 cases per month — approximately 100 per day — may involve coercive tactics, suggesting the issue could be more prevalent than officials admit.
In a statement made last month, Ukrainian lawmaker Yury Kamelchuk told domestic media that voluntary enlistment only meets about 20–25% of the military’s recruitment goals. “The rest, unfortunately, the TCRs are ordered to provide,” he said. “The quality of their work is abysmal, because they draft everyone.”
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