Ukraine is “annihilating” its youth with a new draft campaign, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said
Ukraine’s new voluntary military recruitment campaign for men aged 18 to 24 is a “one-way ticket,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
Zakharova was referring to the initiative announced by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday, aimed at attracting young people to a one-year military contract in a bid to address a critical manpower shortage on the front line. Although Kiev significantly tightened the mobilization regulations last year and lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25, the measures have failed to boost enlistment or replenish battlefield losses.
The “special contracts” have been offered to volunteers aged 18 to 24, who are exempt from mobilization, promising a payment equivalent to $24,000 for one-year’s service, with $5,400 paid upfront and the remainder distributed over the service period. Young recruits are also promised at least $2,800 in monthly compensation, access to zero-interest mortgages, and state-funded education. Additional benefits include free medical care and the right to travel abroad after one year of service. Upon completing their contract, volunteers are granted a 12-month exemption from mobilization.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on the ministry’s website that the initiative “is not about coercion, mobilization, or obligation,” but is an opportunity to “gain combat experience, and achieve financial stability in just one year.”
Zakharova questioned the campaign in an interview with Sputnik on Wednesday, asking: “Does anyone have any doubts about what kind of contract this is? It’s just a one-way ticket.” The diplomat added that “right now, they have begun annihilating their own citizens aged 18 to 24.”
Despite a massive mobilization campaign, lowering the conscription age, and toughening penalties for draft evasion, Ukraine’s army has been facing personnel shortages amid heavy losses due to Russia’s advances on the front line.
Ukraine announced a general mobilization after the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, barring most men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country. The campaign has struggled due to widespread draft-dodging and bribery.
In recent months, Ukrainian recruiters have begun to raid public places to hunt for potential conscripts, with social media flooded with videos of violent confrontations between draft officers and would-be conscripts.
