Recruitment officers from the Ukrainian military conducted searches over the weekend in restaurants, bars, and a concert hall in Kyiv.They checked military registration documents and detained several men who did not comply, according to reports from witnesses and local media, as reported by ABC News..
The officers headed to the Sports Palace in Kyiv after a concert that took place on Friday evening, featuring the Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy.
Video footage broadcast by local media captured several officers stationed outside the concert hall, where they stopped men as they were leaving.In the footage, the officers appear to forcibly detain a few men.
Watch: Ukrainian men dragged out of nightclubs by army recruiters.
Those refusing to show documents exempting them from military service, or whose documents were considered faulty, dragged away.— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) October 13, 2024.
Checks were also carried out at Goodwine, a luxury shopping center, and at Avalon, a popular restaurant.
☠️Massive raids against men have begun across Ukraine.
▪️In video Kyiv – concert ‚Ocean Elzy‘, Khmelnitsky, Dnipro, Kharkov….
❗️Starting tonight and tomorrow, raids will begin in clubs in Odessa and other cities, sources report.— Anne cardynale ou @Bellinarg4 (@Cardy38017Anne) October 12, 2024.
A 27-year-old man recounted that he left the concert while the last song was playing after learning about the recruitment officers.
The young man stated that he saw soldiers and police speaking with people but ‚did not see anything very aggressive.‘ He emphasized that men feel at risk of being recruited whenever they go out on the streets.
Raids have also taken place in clubs and restaurants in other Ukrainian cities, including Kharkov and Dnipro in eastern and central Ukraine.
Such raids occurring in the capital are unusual and reflect Ukraine’s urgent need for new recruits.All Ukrainian men aged between 25 and 60 are eligible for recruitment, and men aged between 18 and 60 are not permitted to leave the country, notes ABC News.
Ukraine has intensified its mobilization efforts this year.A new law that came into effect in the spring stipulates that eligible men for military service must enter their information into an online system or risk penalties.
