In Ukraine, recruiters struggle to sign up new soldiers

DW (English)

Ukraine needs more soldiers, but not everyone is willing to fight. Finding replacements for those who have lost their lives on the front or are exhausted after more than two years of fighting is increasingly hard.

Transcript

00:00Alexei was an infantry soldier, but was wounded in combat.

00:06Now he works these checkpoints, making sure men of fighting age have registered with the authorities.

00:12My whole family is fighting. My brother was with me. My father is fighting. My uncle is fighting.

00:18So I don't think much of such people. I don't understand them at all.

00:22This morning is quiet. A few, like this man, get summons because they're not fully registered.

00:28I have to pass a military medical board so that they confirm whether I am fit or not.

00:36Not all drafting operations run so smoothly.

00:41Videos like this, shared on social media, are set to show recruitment officials using force.

00:48People swap stories of men being dragged off the streets.

00:52While we cannot verify these pictures, they contribute to fear of the mobilization drive.

00:59An army spokeswoman says such incidents are being exaggerated.

01:03The country is under martial law. As for violations of the rights and freedoms of citizens,

01:08as highlighted by lawyers, namely detention, forcibly bringing them in, these actions are now legal.

01:15In other words, the mobilization is going lawfully and orderly.

01:20Anton is worried about being forced to fight.

01:23I have friends who have not left their apartments since the beginning of the war.

01:28They are scared. Everyone is scared.

01:33Anton is planning to escape.

01:35Today there are not many ways to cross the border.

01:42In any case, it costs money, and a lot of it.

01:48Those who have connections and money can escape officially, legally.

01:57Those who have no connections but have some money, they have to run or swim.

02:05He knows someone who can help and has sold everything he had to raise the $10,000 bribe.

02:13When you put life on the scale, nothing can outweigh it.

02:19You simply choose life, and nothing else matters.

02:26The soldiers hunting for draft dodgers have found a peculiar case.

02:35This man is a reserve officer.

02:39Under martial law he should have signed up already.

02:42He didn't, but claims he helps the armed forces as a volunteer.

02:47Well, I'll go. Just go where I need to, not where they tell me.

02:53I'll go myself. I will fight, just not with the kind of chaos that they arrange.

02:59There's not much understanding for that approach here.

03:04Not everyone can be a volunteer, especially an officer who took the oath and has to protect the country.

03:15Although the actual fighting is far away, it echoes along this quiet road.

03:22Without new soldiers, Ukraine will not survive.

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