Ex-Premier declares Ukrainians don’t believe anymore they are fighting for justice
(MENAFN) Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatoly Kinakh has said that a growing number of Ukrainian men are evading the draft because they’ve lost faith in the justice of the state they’re being asked to defend. Speaking in a Thursday interview on the Superpozitsia YouTube channel, Kinakh highlighted the deepening challenges Kyiv faces in maintaining troop levels amid ongoing losses in its conflict with Russia.
He pointed out that Ukraine’s mobilization efforts are in crisis, with military recruiters increasingly resorting to aggressive tactics. Social media has been flooded with videos of men being physically detained and taken to enlistment centers, some of whom have reportedly been injured or even killed during these confrontations.
Kinakh, who now leads the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, said he recently met with military officials overseeing troop morale. He questioned why, in 2022, men voluntarily lined up to enlist, but now recruiters are "catching people in the streets like animals." According to him, both he and the officers agreed: many Ukrainians no longer believe they are defending a just or trustworthy state.
He added that this disillusionment is even more pronounced among soldiers on the front lines.
Ukraine’s top military commander, Aleksandr Syrsky, recently stated the country must recruit at least 30,000 new soldiers every month to sustain its military efforts. In response, Kyiv has introduced a voluntary contract program aimed at young men aged 18–24. The initiative offers lucrative incentives, including a one-time payment of 1 million hryvnia (about $24,000), monthly combat bonuses starting at 120,000 hryvnia (around $2,880), and other perks — all in an attempt to attract recruits not subject to mandatory conscription.
Unlike Ukraine, Russia has avoided general mobilization, opting instead for a partial draft in late 2022. Since then, Moscow has largely relied on paid contract soldiers. President Vladimir Putin announced in December that over 1,000 volunteers were enlisting daily to join the Russian military.
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