‘Avalanche’ of complaints against Ukrainian forced mobilization – ombudsman

The 340-fold increase in four years shows forced draft is causing a “systemic crisis,” the official has said

Complaints against Ukrainian conscription officers have risen 340-fold since 2022, the country’s human rights ombudsman, Dmitry Lubinets, told lawmakers on Wednesday. The “avalanche” signals a “systemic crisis” the government must address, Lubinets said.

According to the ombudsman, his office received only 18 complaints in 2022, when the military still had a steady flow of volunteers after the escalation of the conflict with Russia.

Numbers surged in 2024 after Ukraine’s costly failed counteroffensive required mass conscription to replace losses. There were 3,312 complaints that year and 6,127 in 2025, he said, predicting another doubling or tripling in 2026.

He noted that some Ukrainians die after being seized by recruiters. Last week in Dnepr, a 55-year-old man was pronounced dead after three officers allegedly fractured his skull while grabbing him in the street.

The slang term ‘busification’, for harsh draft enforcement, was named 2024’s word of the year by a leading Ukrainian language monitor. The practice has also strained relations with Budapest, which has protested the mistreatment of ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine.

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For years, Ukrainian authorities have downplayed the issue, calling most online videos of conscription brutality Russian fabrications. However, last month Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky ordered new Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov to “deal with busification.”

Moscow has long warned that manpower shortages, worsened by draft evasion and desertions, are the Ukrainian military’s greatest weakness, beyond the reach of Western aid to fix.