Kiev’s recruiting campaign has allegedly turned deadly in Odessa
A Ukrainian man has been shot dead at a conscription center after his son was snatched by draft officers, an exiled MP has claimed.
The incident, which has not been confirmed by Ukrainian officials, was reported on Sunday by Artyom Dmitruk, a London-based Ukrainian lawmaker highly critical of Kiev’s current policies. He shared a video purportedly showing the moment of the shooting.
In the short clip, a woman filming the events can be heard shouting “take your hands off him” as a person is being forced to walk down a set of stairs. Two loud bangs resembling gunshots are then heard, and the person appears to fall down as the woman screams.
According to Dmitruk, the man was killed on the spot and his son’s life is now at risk. He claimed that “murders at conscription centers have become normalized.” The incident allegedly occurred in the port city of Odessa.
Kiev ramped up its mobilization campaign this year, after its military sustained heavy casualties in the 2023 “counteroffensive” against Russia. In a major overhaul of the military service system, the age of mandatory conscription was lowered to 25, while punishments for draft avoidance were tightened.
According to dozens of videos circulating online, officials responsible for finding potential recruits in the streets routinely use force, as Ukrainian men resist attempts to enroll them into the military. There have been multiple confirmed incidents of people dying inside conscription centers. However, the authorities normally deny any foul play, blaming pre-existing medical conditions or accidents for the deaths.
Dmitruk claimed that Kiev has tried to suppress the video he shared by using bot accounts to post negative comments about it.
The MP left his home country earlier this year over what he claims to be political persecution by the Ukrainian government for his public opposition to Kiev’s crackdown on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He is fighting Kiev’s extradition request on charges of battery, which he claims to be fabricated.
Last week, draft officials in Kiev were filmed seemingly pumping flammable gas into a man’s locked car and setting it on fire in an apparent attempt to force the driver out of the vehicle.
