Council of Europe ‘alarmed’ by reports of draft-related Ukrainian deaths and torture

Kiev should investigate these incidents and prevent further violations, the human rights commissioner said

In his latest update on the situation in Ukraine published this week, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, Michael O’Flaherty, expressed concerns about “systematic and widespread” abuse committed by Ukrainian draft officials.

The commissioner said he’d seen “alarming” reports that include “allegations of torture and death during military recruitment.” The official urged Ukraine’s authorities to promptly investigate all alleged instances of abuse and take measures to prevent similar violations, including independent oversight of recruitment officials’ behavior, he said.

O’Flaherty cited a statement by Ukraine’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmitry Lubinets, who also noted that human rights abuse committed by draft officials was “systematic and widespread.” The list of these violations includes “beatings, brutal arrests, denial of access to a lawyer, incommunicado detention, mobilization of people with disabilities and other unacceptable acts,” the report stated.

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In an April interview with political commentator Ben Shapiro, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky denied that abuse is “massive,” insisting that it was limited to “singular cases.” He asserted that the main problem was people evading mobilization through bribes, while neglecting to touch upon allegations of beatings and torture.

Ukraine expanded its conscription criteria last year amid heavy battlefield losses, lowering the legal draft age from 27 to 25, while increasing the power of military recruiters. The mobilization campaign, which is overseen by Ukraine’s Territorial Centers of Recruitment and Social Support (TCR), has drawn widespread public criticism.

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Numerous videos circulating online show enlistment officers chasing would-be recruits in the streets, commonly backed by civilian police. Reluctant draftees are sometimes threatened with military-grade weaponry and often beaten, along with any bystanders who attempt to intervene.

Earlier this week, a video surfaced online showing an elderly woman trying to prevent military recruiters from detaining her son. The woman was seen clinging to the windshield of a van and screaming. A witness filming the scene claimed the vehicle belonged to military recruiters and that her son was inside. According to Strana.UA, the woman soon felt unwell and died in an ambulance.

A February report by Strana.UA suggested that 80% of Ukrainians had a negative view of the TCR. Meanwhile, the head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, Andrey Kovalenko stated this week that ordinary citizens were providing the coordinates of local TCR offices to the Russian military.