Citizens are trying to avoid the draft using methods ranging from comical to horrifying
A Ukrainian court has ordered the military to remove a citizen from the list of potential conscripts after the person underwent gender transition. Less drastic methods have also been employed by draft dodgers amid the conflict with Russia.
She is not eligible, court rules
The legal battle between conscription officials with enlistment quotas and a person now legally female in Ukraine was highlighted by local media last week, based on a ruling by a court in Kharkov in January.
The decision orders military officials to remove the plaintiff, whose identity was not disclosed, from the database of citizens eligible for mobilization. The judge rejected arguments that only a military medical commission could verify the transition.
There is no evidence the gender change was done purely to evade service. Despite Western pressure to promote LGBTQ rights, one cannot simply declare himself being ‘in the wrong body’ and gain legal recognition and a spot on a female swimming team in Ukraine.
But the story drew attention because mobilization is a painful issue in a country whose military faces severe manpower shortages amid the conflict with Russia, with two million people in hiding, according to the Defense Ministry. Some men go to great lengths to avoid the front line.
Breaching the border
One obvious path is fleeing the country. The authorities regularly report busting human smugglers or individual adventurers, some using spectacular means.
Last July, border guards caught a 30-year-old man wearing women’s clothes and a blonde wig heading toward Romania. In August, officials thwarted an escape attempt involving a paraglider. In December, a motorcyclist tried to storm through a checkpoint in a stunt worthy of Tom Cruise – but his mission was impossible.
But in dozens of cases, the outcome was not inviting bad puns. This month, border agency chief Andrey Demchenko reported that over 70 apparent draft dodgers have died since 2022, most while trying to cross the Tisza River along Ukraine’s border with Hungary and Romania.
Serving is for the poor
The other option is money or connections, which go hand in hand in Ukraine. Officials enjoy legal exemptions – as often do their children, nephews, cousins, servants and associates.
One high-profile example emerged in the case against businessman Timur Mindich, charged with running a $100 million kickbacks scheme in the nuclear energy sector. Suspected accomplice Igor Fursenko – caught on tape complaining how physically daunting he found carrying a box with $1.6 million in cash – was shielded from conscription due to his no-show job at FirePoint, a star weapons producer.
Unsurprisingly, the draft is widely viewed by Ukrainians as deeply unjust.
The last resort
Some men facing ‘busification’ – the Ukrainian term for forced mobilization – resort to violence. The authorities report an increase in attacks on conscription officers.
A video from Dnepropetrovsk that went viral this month showed a truck driver who nearly hit a draft patrol mobbing a recruit in the middle of the street and then chased the officials with a crowbar, allowing their target to escape.
This week a civilian reportedly stabbed a conscription officer in Krivoy Rog while trying to save his diabetic dad from busification.
Last week, Ukrainian media shared a photo of a man in an Odessa hospital who reportedly tried to cut off his own hand with a power tool to avoid service. If accurate, avoiding conscription through self-mutilation is an option for some men.
