‘Everyone's afraid to die’: Struggle to recruit soldiers in Ukraine turns violent
Ukraine is facing a violent backlash against military recruitment efforts as the war with Russia enters its fifth year. Reports indicate hundreds of assaults on recruitment officers as public fear of the front line grows.
Why it matters
The rising violence against recruiters underscores the severe social and political strain caused by the ongoing mobilization crisis in Ukraine.
Image caption, Vasyl Krupych, a serving soldier, was assaulted while out searching for draft dodgers
Vasyl Krupych knows what it is to fight for Ukraine.
He describes terrifying scenes from battles in the eastern Donbas region where, sometimes praying, sometimes crying, the machine gunner somehow survived the onslaught by Russian troops.
But last December, by then serving in the rear, Krupych was attacked by his own countrymen whilst out searching for draft dodgers.
He says two men ignored demands to show their documents and fled. When his patrol gave chase, Krupych was badly beaten with a crowbar. He spent six weeks in hospital.
"He broke my rib, I was lying there and couldn't breathe," the veteran recalled in a recent interview.
"What did we fight for, if soldiers can now get beaten?"
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