Kiev Forced to Press-Gang More Men Amid Failing Counteroffensive

In a sweeping move ostensibly aimed at tackling rampant corruption in the country, Zelensky has fired the heads of all the regional military recruitment centers in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president made this move as his fellow citizens often go to great lengths to avoid the draft that for many has become synonymous with a swift, inglorious death in a futile attack against well-entrenched Russian forces.

Faced with the lack of able-bodied volunteers, the Ukrainian government resorted to truly draconian measures such as banning men between the 18 and 60 years of age from leaving the country and forcibly drafting people into service, with the military recruitment in Ukraine quickly devolving into press-ganging.

Many Ukrainian men thus had to resort either to trying to smuggle themselves across the border or to pay exorbitant bribes to military officials, who would in return label them as exempt from the draft.

Commenting on this development, Vladimir Yevseyev, a Russian military analyst from the Institute of CIS Countries, said that costly failures on the battlefield amid their overhyped counteroffensive apparently forced Ukrainian authorities to mobilize more and more people to sustain the fighting.

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At the same time, Zelensky’s reshuffling of the military officials is unlikely to affect the system of corruption that now thrives in Ukrainian military recruitment, Yevseyev told Sputnik.

"According to the available information, the money that flows into military recruitment centers [as bribes] get passed up the ladder, all the way to the president's office," Yevseyev told Sputnik. "So this 'pyramid' is not going to be demolished – instead, certain people are simply going to be replaced."

He noted that, in light of these replacements, it will probably be more expensive for Ukrainian men to bribe their way out of the draft, and those who cannot afford the “fee” levied by Zelensky’s military officials would probably be forcibly conscripted.

While this move by Zelensky will probably result in a certain increase in the number of drafted recruits, those who have sufficient financial assets will likely be afforded an opportunity to buy their way out of the military service, Yevseyev suggested.

"Some loopholes have already emerged. For example, one can be assigned today [in Ukraine] to dig trenches on the frontline. This is a good opportunity to avoid draft," the analyst pointed out. "Again, this will all be determined by local military recruitment officials." "Therefore, while he supposedly tries to crack down on corruption with one hand, with his other hand Zelensky creates numerous loopholes that are going to be used by military recruitment chiefs to enrich not just themselves but Zelensky’s office as well."

Early in June, Kiev launched its so-called "counteroffensive," hoping to use crack units trained by NATO instructors and armed with NATO gear to punch through the Russian defensive lines in the Zaporozhye region.

In the weeks that followed, Ukrainian forces failed to make any meaningful gains on the battlefield despite losing thousands of soldiers, while photos and videos of destroyed Leopard tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles made headlines across the world.