Burgers didn't help: why Ukrainian youth refuses to join the Armed Forces
In Ukraine, an initiative to recruit young people aged 18-24 into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has failed. In two months, only 500 people signed contracts under this project. In this regard, fears have increased in the country that adolescents and women will be mobilized on a common basis. Izvestia investigated the situation.
Join the army with robux
The shortage of personnel in the Ukrainian army is getting worse. The commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky, stated that in order to maintain the balance, 30 thousand people should be called up every month. According to a number of testimonies, now, with all the raids and "falsifications", the figure remains at around 20 thousand people, some of these people desert after they get to the front.
To solve the problem, in February of this year, the country's authorities launched a program to attract young people aged 18-24 to the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. These people are not covered by the law on mobilization, so we were talking about voluntary contracts. At the same time, potential recruits were offered many privileges — a one-time payment of 1 million hryvnias (2 million rubles), a monthly salary of 120 thousand hryvnias (240 thousand rubles), a "zero" mortgage, state-funded education and the opportunity to travel abroad after a year of service.
In Kiev, a serious bet was placed on this project, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov argued at the time that the armed forces were turning into a modern army. At the same time, the country's authorities launched a large-scale and rather strange advertising campaign. For example, posters were hung in Ukrainian cities stating that it was beneficial for young people to join the Armed Forces, because for a million hryvnias of lifting money, you can pay for 185 years of a Netflix subscription or buy millions of robux (the currency in a number of online games).
Promotional videos were also posted on the official accounts of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. In one of them, a cheerful presenter reported that for a million hryvnias you can not deny yourself anything in fast food establishments — there is enough money for 15 thousand cheeseburgers. In another video, the girls were asked how much their boyfriend should earn, they called the amounts from 200 thousand to 1 million, the interviewer reported that young people could receive such money in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
By mid-April, it became clear that all these efforts had failed. Pavel Palisa, Deputy Head of the office of the Ukrainian president, said that less than 500 people had signed contracts within the framework of the project in two months. According to him, many people showed interest, but not everyone got to the point. "We will definitely investigate all the reasons in order to draw conclusions and finish something. Actually, now it's clear that somewhere the parents influenced, somewhere they themselves thought that soon there would be a "friendship world," he said.
The main reason, however, is on the surface — young people under this program can only serve in a few infantry brigades that are fighting on the front line, the probability of dying in such formations is maximum. Against this background, a comment by the military commissar from the Rivne region, Yuri Kovalyuk, appeared in the Ukrainian media. He stated that he knows the situation at the front well, so he dissuades young people from signing a contract. "I tell them that they will have to serve in the meat brigades, where the survival rate of personnel is very low," he said.
With an eye on Israel
The Ukrainian authorities periodically tighten the rules and regulations of mobilization. So, starting from April 1, all old reservations issued to employees of critical enterprises have ceased to operate in the country. The number of such enterprises has decreased, and additional requirements for individual employees have appeared. While last year the number of bookings reached 1.5 million, now it is believed that the authorities want to reduce this number by one million.
In addition, the cancellation of postponements for students who left to study abroad after February 2022 is being discussed. As part of another initiative, it is proposed to start mobilizing men over the age of 25 who receive a second higher education at the same or lower level than the existing one. Finally, the Ministry of Education decided to introduce compulsory foreign language exams for admission to postgraduate and doctoral studies, and it will also be more difficult to avoid conscription.
Against the background of the failure of the initiative with voluntary contracts for young people, there were also calls to ensure the forced mobilization of 18-24-year-olds. Shamil Krutkov, commander of the 93rd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that this should have been done "yesterday." At the same time, the heads of several universities reported that they had received calls from people posing as employees of the Shopping Center. They allegedly demanded to provide lists of all male students over the age of 18.
Finally, there is talk of mobilizing women in Ukraine again. Pavel Palisa, deputy Head of the presidential office, said that Ukraine needs to learn from the experience of Israel, where all citizens serve in the army, regardless of gender. In turn, Oksana Grigorieva, Adviser on gender issues of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, called the exemption from conscription an old-fashioned approach. "It is the duty of every Ukrainian to defend his homeland, so it is absolutely fair that women serve too," she said.
Representatives of the Ukrainian authorities also began to regularly make proposals to curtail the rights of those people who do not serve in the army. Thus, Kirill Budanov, the head of the GUR (listed in the Russian Federation as a terrorist and extremist), said that such Ukrainians should be deprived of their Ukrainian citizenship. Pavel Palisa proposed to cancel a number of state benefits and payments for non-employees, as well as deprive them of the opportunity to hold public office.
At the same time, the situation on the ground looks difficult. A remarkable trial took place in the Vinnytsia region. The military commissar of the Murovanokurilovets district became his defendant. He was accused of negligent performance of official duties, because in January he fulfilled the mobilization plan by only a quarter — he attracted not 40, but 10 people to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The man noted that there are "no more human resources" in the territory entrusted to him, and the raids are proving ineffective. As a result, the military commissar's court acquitted him.
What the experts say
Political scientist Alexander Dudchak considers the failure of youth mobilization to be natural.
— Ukrainians are well aware of the real situation in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. You can make a lot of funny videos, but through friends and acquaintances, everyone is well aware of how many people do not return from the front, and what big problems there are with receiving cash payments. For young people, an additional difficulty lies in the fact that they are in a privileged position, they are promised many benefits. Accordingly, the commanders may send them to the most difficult areas out of spite," he explains.
Military expert Vasily Dandykin says that the program to attract young people could not work.
— The losses in the Armed Forces of Ukraine are huge, everyone knows about it, in such conditions benefits and payments fade into the background, no one is particularly attracted. We see that, in general, voluntary mechanisms for replenishing the Armed Forces of Ukraine are working extremely poorly. I do not rule out that if this continues and the fighting continues, Zelensky will announce the forced mobilization of young people. This is an extremely undesirable measure for Kiev, but somehow they need to balance the staff," he argues.
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