The sixth wave of mobilization of Ukrainian troops for active duty that began on June 18 has ended in Ukraine, but with only 50 percent of the mobilization quota filled, according to official sources: instead of 25,000 men as scheduled, only 13,000 have been drafted into the army. Men with a clean bill of health, aged between 25 and 60, were liable for military service. The right to draft postponement was due fathers with many children, men who are taking care of disabled next of kin, and topnotch experts in certain fields, in place of residence. The 2015 mobilization program was aimed at securing rotation and quality army reserve. In January, President Petro Poroshenko signed an edict ordering three rounds of mobilization. Three were done in 2014. The fourth and the fifth ended in the winter and spring of 2015.
Presidential advisor Yurii Biriukov wrote on Facebook: “At present, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are at their peak in terms of capability, manpower, and resources. The third wave hasn’t been demobilized as yet whereas the sixth one is already at the training facilities. If something big happened now, we would have maximum [resistance to offer]… if [hostilities] began today, our army would be fully prepared. Most importantly, the third wave is the most battle-hardened. Yes, there is combat fatigue, moral exhaustion, but these men are the most experienced ones.”
Experts explain that the mobilization quota was not met because the patriotic spirit was on a downward curve. This trend shouldn’t be expressed in abstract terms. Making a choice between going to war or staying home, risking one’s life, setting aside one’s plans for at least a year or continuing to work as usual depends on how well one understands the ultimate goal, why one should make this sacrifice. There are a number of aspects to this, including (a) the demographic one: “What is Ukraine’s actual human potential?” and (b) motivation; it is inseparable from the awareness of one’s role in the carrying out of specific defense tasks.
In March 2014, the viiskomat military registration and enlistment offices didn’t have to look for conscripts. There were volunteers standing in line. True, the next month the wave of enthusiasm began to abate. Those who wanted to fight to defend Ukraine preferred to enlist in the volunteer battalions while the viiskomats reaped the fruits of their inaction over the past several decades. In the end their recruits lists showed the names of disabled persons and even deceased. Their paperwork – keeping recruits’ files and registers – was done in parallel with conscription/enlistment as the war was gaining momentum. By the summer the Ukrainian troops had learned to offer adequate resistance to the Russian aggressor and Kremlin-brainwashed and hired separatists. However, the Ukrainian government’s systemic miscalculations, the military command’s absolutely irresponsible performance resulted in Ukrainian forces finding themselves in pockets (completely encircled by the enemy), followed by “successful retreats” and the division of the army into the elite and regular units. All this had its toll on motivation. According to Mykola Sunhurovsky, director, military programs, Razumkov Economic and Political Study Center, “When the state is avoiding fighting a war, by hook or by crook, there is no reason to expect its citizens to act otherwise.”
Double play (fight or do business with the enemy, fight the occupier or gangs of terrorists), abstract statements and appeals are blurring the potential soldier’s vision of what and whom he must fight risking his life. There is no martial law, just as there is no official recognition of Ukraine being at war [with Russia]. Legally speaking, this calls into question the entire military recruitment campaign in Ukraine. In January 2015, Defense Ministry spokesperson Viktoria Kushnir stated that they were working out a “Unified Servicemen Register.” It was to include the draft dodgers and the lists with their names were to be handed over to the Ministry of the Interior and to the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to bring such persons to account. Since then it has been anyone’s guess exactly how these lists are drawn up, considering that none of the viiskomats has an adequate database with the names of citizens liable for military service. Also, it is totally unclear how these draft dodgers are to be located and apprehended, how all this tallies with the human rights concept. Vladyslav Selezniov, head of the General HQ press service, declared: “Everything depends on how the situation in the east of Ukraine will evolve. If it aggravates, then yes, this will be possible. At the moment, however, it isn’t worth discussing any plans on our part concerning another wave of mobilization this year.” Military analysts say a professional army could resolve the current situation.
The aggressor can’t but reckon with factors such as the inability of the Ukrainian army to accumulate the required amount of manpower. Considering that the [Kremlin-backed] militants are stepping up hostilities in the Donbas and that Russia is deploying heavily equipped military units – actually creating bridgeheads – in Rostov oblast and in the areas bordering on Kharkiv oblast – let alone in Crimea – there is no ruling out the possibility of Russia attacking Ukraine from a totally unexpected direction. That is why it is of the utmost importance to secure defenses in all such invasion risk areas, something impossible to accomplish without sufficient and efficient manpower. Also, a conscript can’t be bullied into training to become a good soldier, just as a mobilization quota can’t be filled by locating and apprehending draft dodgers. Our people “upstairs” must set an example by recognizing their mistakes, bringing the guilty parties to account, and by acting in the open.
Yevhen ZAKHAROV, head of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, Director of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group, member of the dissident movement:
“There must be a recruits/conscripts register. However, there is also the Law of Ukraine ‘On Protection of Personal Data.’ Access [to the database] must be granted only on a need-to-know basis, each time duly recorded to avoid abuses. Also, the presence or absence of this register should have no bearing on any unlawful activities of the viiskomats, especially when they round up people who look conscription age on city streets and escort them to the regional viiskomat’s assembly point, then ship them off to the army. Such actions are absolutely against the law. Such viiskomats are known to have asked the police to lend them a hand, but then [Interior Minister] Arsen Avakov signed a directive threatening police officers found to have taken part in such unlawful activities with instant dishonorable discharge. Unfortunately, such cases, now under the jurisdiction of the Military Law Enforcement Service [Ukr. Version of the US Judge Advocate General’s Corps] are not few and far apart. This happens down Metro stations, on city streets and trains.
“I know of cases when drug addicts, ex-cons, mental patients, fathers of more than three children were included in conscription lists. In one case a young fellow who had come from Alchevsk to Kharkiv via Belarus with his grandmother to take computerized university enrolment tests was grabbed while working on the campus. His granny was left alone in a strange city. We have been able to help in some cases when such unlawful conscripts were released. Anyway, the mobilization plan remains unfulfilled, even after applying such harsh methods.
“Under the law, a man liable for military service is to be served his call-up papers at his place of residence, study or work. He must be handed the papers directly, sign them and then report to the viiskomat. Failing to do so, the police are notified and they must see to it that he complies. The police, however, say such draft dodgers have lots of ways to avoid being served the call-up papers.
“Personally, I support Interior Minister Arsen Avakov’s idea of having a professional army. What we have in our army today are Soviet hangovers, when people are drafted into the army simply to meet the recruitment quota. The point isn’t whether or not there is a register/database with the names of men liable for military service. The point is whether the viiskomat is acting in accordance with the law, the priorities of the national policy. Military and civilian expert findings show that a professional army is less of a burden on the central budget while proving more effective than an overall mobilization campaign. Old habits die hard, of course. A strategy must be worked out. First, each citizen should learn the ABCs of basic military training. This doesn’t mean that every citizen will have to serve in the army. It’s just that such elementary combat training is necessary. How many such training facilities do we have? None, although I’m reasonably sure that a great many Ukrainians would want that kind of training, to meet further challenges. If we had such facilities, we’d have people really fit for active duty. Second, we badly need a professional army.
“Also, we have to broaden the alternative civilian service opportunities. Immunity from military conscription was legally practiced during WW II. It was extended to specialists who were absolutely necessary behind the rear lines. A graphic example to the contrary today: Dmytro Yevtushenko, a brilliant programmer who has helped produce drones (unmanned aerial vehicles – UAVs) for the Ukrainian military, is standing trial in Kharkiv on draft dodging charges. The young man took his time collecting medical certificates providing for such immunity for reasons of health after being served the call-up papers. In the end the military he had done so much for accused him of draft evasion and the judge sentenced him to two years in prison. He is in a pre-trial holding facility pending appeals hearing this week. There are reasons to believe the man will be acquitted. On the other hand, how many people do we have in Ukraine who can design such drones? Such people should be granted immunity from military conscription. They will be far more effective behind the rear lines. We must all work for our victory – some by fighting and others by helping them.”
