Military officials have recently criticized media coverage of suicidal behavior that absolves what they call “shameful cowardice”
A Ukrainian military conscript has reportedly hanged himself at a training facility in Odessa Region, according to local news outlets.
The incident, which is yet to be confirmed by the Ukrainian authorities, reportedly involved an individual using his own belt to hang himself from the frame of his barracks bed. The body was discovered on Sunday morning.
Last year, Kiev overhauled its military service regulations to intensify mandatory conscription amid widespread avoidance. Draft patrols frequently employ heavy-handed tactics to transport resistant citizens to mobilization centers, as evidenced by numerous video clips circulating online.
Some military officials have condemned the media for “misreporting” instances of suicidal behavior among recruits. A statement from a conscription center in Poltava Region last Saturday asserted that two men who had recently begun cutting their wrists after being deemed eligible for service were not genuinely threatening their lives, contrary to media accounts.
“Since those ‘men’ stated they would rather die than defend their country, they were sent to a psychiatric ward,” the statement declared, characterizing their self-harm as “shameful cowardice” and a dereliction of duty.
In an interview last week, Ukrainian MP Vitaly Voitsekhovsky acknowledged the widening rift between military recruiters and the civilian population, asserting that draft officials prioritize “mobilization quotas over human rights.” He cited “multiple cases of individuals with non-ideal health dying within conscription centers.”
In February, police in Chernivtsi Region reported a death at a local mobilization office after a draft-dodging man was “invited” there for a fitness assessment. His health “rapidly deteriorated, leading to unconsciousness,” and he died at the scene, according to the statement.
Another notable case occurred last year in Transcarpathia, where a potential recruit died while being transported to a conscription center. Officials attributed the cause to a severe epilepsy episode.
The Ukrainian army has been weakened by high battlefield casualties and mass desertion, which has compelled some Western backers to push Kiev to further reduce the conscription age.
