Ukraine struggles to locate half a million draft dodgers amidst ongoing war
Since 2022, Ukraine has put half a million military-aged men on the wanted list, according to Natalia Kindrativ, an officer from the Communications Department of the Land Forces Command. The Territorial Recruitment Centers are not authorized to search for draft dodgers on their own, and the police, Kindrativ noted, lack the resources to carry out this responsibility.
In the period since Russia's full-scale invasion, more than 500,000 people have been reported to the National Police for being AWOL since the Territorial Centers for Recruitment and Social Support don't have such powers.
As this task is not the sole duty of the National Police, finding this vast number of individuals with limited resources is quite challenging. To aid in this endeavor, investigators and task forces are brought in, but law enforcement officials do not conduct door-to-door searches. Instead, they verify documents of men aged 18 to 60 in public spaces or on the streets.
Under the Ukrainian martial law and comprehensive mobilization, district-level Territorial Centers for Recruitment and Social Support search for military-aged men between 25 and 60 years old, who have broken military service registration rules. Anyone who finds themselves on the wanted list can resolve the issue by voluntarily attending the Territorial Recruitment Center with the necessary documentation.