New Recruits
Ukraine’s military conscription laws threaten humanitarian efforts
According to activists, Ukrainian men are being pulled away from lifesaving humanitarian work and drafted into the military under new conscription laws.
Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) based in Kharkiv have rescued thousands of civilians from communities under intense fire in recent months. From June to August 2024, Human Rights First went with some of these HRDs to evacuate people in severe danger from Velyki Burluk, Kivsharivka, Kupiansk, and Prykolotne with other volunteers who provide humanitarian aid to people in need.
NGOs in the northeastern region of Kharkiv told Human Rights First how some HRDs have already been conscripted, and that a new drive for recruits means many men previously doing humanitarian work are now staying at home out of fear they will be stopped at a military checkpoint and forced into the army.
Russian invasions of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022 have resulted in a protracted war being fought along a front line stretching over several hundred miles. In August 2024 Ukraine opened a new line of attack when it pushed into Russia’s Kursk region with reports estimating Ukraine could commit as many as 10,000 troops to the attack. Despite the widespread use of new technology on the battlefield, much of the war is being fought by more traditional means, with large numbers of soldiers armed with rifles defending the country from trenches.
One of the challenges facing Ukraine’s war effort is a shortage of conscripts. Kyiv hopes new laws passed in April 2024 aimed at recruiting many more soldiers will help it get on the front foot militarily, particularly after a fresh wave of attacks from Russia in May 2024 in the northeast.
The new laws aim to reinforce Ukraine’s tiring military and lower the age of conscription from 27 to 25, although volunteers over 18 are still accepted.
An initial target of conscripting 450,000 to 500,000 new recruits has been lowered, but it is not clear what the new number is. Human Rights First has been regularly reporting from the front line in and around Kharkiv, the country’s second biggest city, over the last two years, and it is clear that Ukraine’s military is running short of personnel.
Ukraine has for a decade been successfully pressing the United States government and leaders in Europe for weapons to defend itself against Russian aggression, but having enough soldiers to use them is a significant challenge.
Many men have gone into hiding to avoid the draft, or paid a bribe to buy a medical exception certificate, putting more pressure on the authorities to find the men they say the country requires to continue to fight. Some anti-corruption activists say they are being threatened with conscription into the military in an attempt to silence their work.
In their determination to find more soldiers, Ukrainian officials are now conscripting many men of military age who are currently undertaking vital humanitarian work, including those evacuating civilians from communities under fire, repairing bombed-out homes, and distributing food and medicine.
While there are some exemptions from the draft for male NGO staff of military age, these are difficult to obtain, and some activists in Kharkiv complain there is a lack of clarity in the new laws including exactly who is exempt.
Kharkiv NGOs told Human Rights First the rules on men who should not be required to join the army should be extended to those providing vital humanitarian work. They say many of these are volunteers and will be difficult to replace if they are recruited into the military.
Those doing humanitarian work in Kharkiv also say the reluctance of some international NGOs and embassies to visit the region limits their understanding of the vital work volunteers are doing.
Local activists complain that Kharkiv has become something of a blind spot for international actors, including NGOs and diplomats, and that much of their work goes unrecognized. The U.S. government has not sent any officials to Kharkiv since before the February 2022 invasion. As Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov has noted, “We have many people supporting us, but they do not have the courage to come to Kharkiv.”
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