76 army recruitment center employees under suspicion in Ukraine

Ukrainian police have charged 76 draft office workers in 428 criminal cases tied to illegal military service evasion since Russia’s full-scale invasion, acting National Police Chief Maksym Tsutskiridze said on Aug. 11.

Nationwide, police investigated the possible illegal exemption of nearly 2,500 military-eligible men and annulled around 6,500 unlawful rulings by military medical commissions, Tsutskiridze told Ukrinform, according to The Kyiv Independent.

The cases involve illegal assistance with draft evasion, falsified medical certificates and schemes to help men illegally cross the border despite martial-law rules barring men from leaving Ukraine. Of the cases, 105 have been sent to court, while the rest remain under investigation, Tsutskiridze said.

Tsutskiridze said police are focusing on the highest-risk areas: mobilization, deferment documents and medical commission decisions. He said investigators are emphasizing thorough documentation, identifying all participants in a scheme and building files that can hold up in court, rather than simply increasing the number of cases opened.

The law “must apply equally” to conscripts and to officials responsible for mobilization or medical board rulings, Tsutskiridze said, adding that no position, rank or resources should shield anyone from accountability. He also said accountability must be individualized and evidence-based, warning against turning specific abuses into a blanket campaign against all draft officers or annulling legitimate medical commission rulings.

Forced mobilization remains one of Ukraine’s largest sources of social and political tension as the military seeks to replenish and rotate combat units while many eligible men not already serving are reluctant to join. Ukrainian media reported that law enforcement searched draft authority and military medical commission offices in Mukachevo, Zakarpattia Oblast, on Aug. 6 as part of an investigation into more than 1,000 alleged cases of men being illegally removed from the military register.