Andrey, a young car mechanic, was walking through the city of Horlivka in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine with his friend Elena in late March when they were stopped by a military conscription officer who thrust call-up papers into his hands.
Within a week, Andrey, who had no military experience, was on the frontline fighting alongside Russian troops in Moscow’s confrontation with Ukraine. “I don’t know where he is now,” Elena said. “I don’t even know the unit number.
He rarely called . . . then there was no longer any contact with him. ”
Russia has not introduced mass mobilisation of fighting age men since invading Ukraine on February 24, because it has not officially declared itself at war with its neighbour. But conscription has been in force in Ukraine’s proRussia breakaway enclaves, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s\Republics in the south-eastern Donbas region, since the start of what Moscow calls a “special military operation”. Previously only some men were called for military service, with many exempt.
Russia appears to be relying heavily on conscripts from the breakaway regions in the absence of its own full mobilisation, some analysts say.
In recent weeks, the separatist authorities have reportedly intensified the callup, with residents saying men with no military experience are regularly plucked from the streets and immediately sent to the front. The escalation, and rising casualty rates, have begun to spark anger even among pro-Russian communities.
Several videos posted online purportedly show the wives of Donetsk and Luhansk conscripts demanding assistance for their husbands and asking why men with no military background are being sent to fight.