Russia Intensifies Forced Military Draft in Occupied Ukraine, Even Targeting Schools

Russia is intensifying military registration monitoring, starting with school-aged youth, and forcibly conscripting men in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

This was reported by Andrii Cherniak, a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR), in a comment for the “Rada” TV channel.

“They go to schools, they go to businesses, they keep records, and try to enlist as many draft-age men as possible,” Cherniak said.

The representative of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence emphasized that forced conscription in the temporarily occupied territories is yet another manifestation of Russia’s genocidal policy against Ukraine.

“In Russia, there is no shortage of its own mobilization resources. [Forced conscription in the occupied territories of Ukraine] serves only counterintelligence purposes. It is solely a tool for carrying out genocide. […] Russia’s primary goal is to 'cleanse' the temporarily occupied territories of the Ukrainian population,” Cherniak added.

He added that those forcibly conscripted in the occupied territories were sent to fight against Ukraine with little to no military training.

“They are given uniforms and weapons, but they are thrown into battle with the expectation that within hours or days, they will be killed. This allows Russia to wash its hands of any further responsibility for these people because it considers them separate, a lower class of people,” the Defense Intelligence representative stated.

On December 4, a report revealed in 2024 reported that nearly 5,500 residents of temporarily occupied Crimea were conscripted into the Russian army.