Forced Ukrainian Recruits in Russian Army Resist Frontline Deployment Through Self-Injury

Ukrainians forcibly conscripted into Russia’s occupying army are deliberately injuring themselves to avoid being sent into assault operations against Ukraine’s Defense Forces in the Kherson region.

This was reported by the ATESH partisan movement on July 28.

According to an ATESH agent embedded in Russia’s Dnipro Flotilla, such incidents have become systematic within a unit deployed in the Kherson region.

At the end of June, a soldier—a resident of temporarily occupied Kherson region who had been conscripted into the Russian army against his will—deliberately injured a fellow serviceman, who was also mobilized from occupied Ukrainian territory.

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War in Ukraine

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The primary motivation behind such actions is to avoid participation in offensive operations against Ukraine’s Defense Forces.

ATESH notes that Russian commanders use coercion, intimidation, and threats of violence to force residents of occupied regions to carry out combat orders. However, despite strict control, many Ukrainians are finding ways to avoid being sent to the front lines.

The partisans emphasize that these incidents are no longer isolated—they have become a recurring pattern.

Earlier, it was reported that Russian authorities initiated a new wave of covert mobilization in the Republic of Dagestan, focusing primarily on the city of Makhachkala.

Local police have intensified patrols and ID checks, detaining young men under the pretext of the summer draft.

According to ATESH, those without official deferments are taken straight to enlistment offices, with some deployed just days after being detained.

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