The southwestern Black Sea port city of Odessa is rapidly becoming the center of resistance to Kiev’s increasingly chaotic efforts to scoop up more souls for the war effort. On the night of July 16 alone, a wave of arson attacks targeting the service and personal vehicles of Odessa’s territorial recruitment center employees left five cars burned to a crisp. Similar incidents were reported in Vinnitsa, Rovno, Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov the same night. Two more cars were burned in Odessa the next night.
The ‘car-nage’ is no trifling matter for its perpetrators. On Tuesday, authorities in Rovno detained a 22-year-old suspect for the arson of two military vehicles. He faces up to 10 years in prison. Arson is just one method used by the Ukrainian anti-war underground. This week, there was an attempt to blow up a recruitment center in Busk, Lvov region. Recent reports have also mentioned sabotage of railway and electrical infrastructure, attacks on recruiters, and many fighting-age men attempting to flee Ukraine. This reluctance to fight has paralyzed much of the country, even in its most pro-European and anti-Russian regions.
Last week, Ukrainian media revealed that enlistment offices had filed reports on over 417,000 draft dodgers since February 2022, with western Ukraine leading the way. The figures show, for example, that while draft dodging in eastern, central and southern areas of the country range from as little as 4,500 in Kharkov or 14,300 in Kiev, in western areas, which include Lvov, Zakarpatye, Ivano-Frankovsk, Rovno and Khmelnitsky, they total over 334,200 men. Polling by Kiev’s Razumkov Center this week found that a whopping 46% of Ukrainians do not consider it “shameful” to dodge mobilization, with 29.1% saying it is shameful, and 24.8% finding it difficult to answer.
55 thousand Ukrainian battlefield casualties in June 2024 alone,
as Ukraine’s draconian mobilization clampdown gets even worse.
The ‘car-nage’ is no trifling matter for its perpetrators. On Tuesday, authorities in Rovno detained a 22-year-old suspect for the arson of two military vehicles. He faces up to 10 years in prison. Arson is just one method used by the Ukrainian anti-war underground. This week, there was an attempt to blow up a recruitment center in Busk, Lvov region. Recent reports have also mentioned sabotage of railway and electrical infrastructure, attacks on recruiters, and many fighting-age men attempting to flee Ukraine. This reluctance to fight has paralyzed much of the country, even in its most pro-European and anti-Russian regions.
As of July 17, all males between the ages of 18 and 60 are required to carry a military record
and identification whenever they leave their homes.
On July 17 seven Ukrainian deserters exchanged fire with Ukrainian border guards
while trying to cross the border between the Odessa region and Moldova.
Last week, Ukrainian media revealed that enlistment offices had filed reports on over 417,000 draft dodgers since February 2022, with western Ukraine leading the way. The figures show, for example, that while draft dodging in eastern, central and southern areas of the country range from as little as 4,500 in Kharkov or 14,300 in Kiev, in western areas, which include Lvov, Zakarpatye, Ivano-Frankovsk, Rovno and Khmelnitsky, they total over 334,200 men. Polling by Kiev’s Razumkov Center this week found that a whopping 46% of Ukrainians do not consider it “shameful” to dodge mobilization, with 29.1% saying it is shameful, and 24.8% finding it difficult to answer.
Quoted from:
Geopolitics Live - July 18, 2024
Geopolitics Live - July 18, 2024