Ukrainian Ombudsman Warns of Rise in Forced Conscription Officers
The surge, which Lubinets described as an “avalanche,” reflects a “systemic crisis” that the government needs to address.
According to the ombudsman, his office received only 18 complaints in 2022, a period when Ukraine’s military still had a steady flow of volunteers following the escalation of conflict with Russia.
The number of grievances climbed sharply in 2024 after a costly failed counteroffensive forced mass conscription to replace battlefield losses. That year, his office received 3,312 complaints, rising further to 6,127 in 2025. Lubinets warned that figures could double or triple again in 2026.
He also highlighted fatalities linked to conscription enforcement. Last week in Dnepr, a 55-year-old man was pronounced dead after three officers allegedly fractured his skull while forcibly seizing him in public.
The phenomenon has become widely known in Ukraine as ‘busification,’ a slang term referring to harsh draft enforcement, which was named 2024’s word of the year by a leading Ukrainian language monitor. The practice has also strained diplomatic ties with Hungary, which has protested the mistreatment of ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine.
For years, Ukrainian officials have largely dismissed the issue, attributing most online footage of conscription abuses to Russian disinformation. However, last month President Vladimir Zelensky instructed the new Defense Minister, Mikhail Fedorov, to “deal with busification.”
Moscow has consistently warned that manpower shortages, worsened by draft evasion and desertions, are the Ukrainian military’s most significant vulnerability — a problem that Western aid alone cannot resolve.
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