Ukraine’s military recruitment is undergoing drastic changes. President Volodymyr Zelensky fired all the heads of the regional recruitment centre following a scandal that saw recruiters pocketing millions in bribes to allow men to avoid military service.
President Zelensky announced on Friday, August 11th, that all of the regional military recruitment heads, known as commissars in Ukraine, would be removed from their posts saying, “We are dismissing all regional military commissars,” adding, “This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery at a time of war is high treason.”
“Dismissed military enlistment offices heads and other officials who have epaulettes and for whom no data on crimes or violations have been found (can go) to the front if they want to keep epaulettes and prove their dignity,” Zelensky said.
“But let me emphasise: the army is not and never will be a substitute for criminal punishment. Officials who confused epaulettes and benefits will definitely be brought to trial,” he added.
According to a BBC report, as many as 30 people are currently facing criminal charges relating to bribery, taking both cash payments and cryptocurrency to help men avoid military service and, in some cases, leave the country.
Under the current wartime rules, all men aged between 18 and 60 are eligible for military service and no one in that age range is allowed to leave the country, except under certain circumstances, such as severe illness or disability.
Ukrainian authorities have so far launched 112 criminal proceedings involving 33 suspects across the country, as the president’s office claimed the suspected corruption abuses “pose a threat to Ukraine’s national security and undermine confidence in state institutions.”
The fired regional recruitment heads will be replaced with military personnel who have battlefield experience according to Ukrainian media and will be screened by the country’s security services prior to taking the position.
The announcement comes after the head of the enlistment office in Odesa, Yevhen Borisov, was arrested earlier this month after spending two days on the run from Ukrainian authorities. Borisov is alleged to have pocketed as much as 4.6 million euros worth of bribes to declare men not fit for active military service.
Another official, the head of the recruitment office in Donetsk, was also charged with offences relating to corruption, including helping criminals avoid trial by employing them and giving illegal payments to those working under him.
Ukrainian authorities became suspicious of Borisov when it was revealed that his mother was able to buy a €3.7 million home in Spain despite only having made a total of €100,000 in the past 20 years. Borisov himself only made around €1,500 per month in his role.
The former official is alleged to have charged as much as €9,000 per person to state that the individual was not fit for service.
Being unfit for service also allows some men to leave Ukraine and circumvent the general order that keeps men between 18 and 60 from leaving.
Elevated numbers of Ukrainian men entering Germany seem to corroborate the recruitment scandal. Alternative for Germany (AfD) MP Petr Bystron shared information with The European Conservative that shows a substantial increase in the number of “unfit” Ukrainian men (within the 18 to 60 age range) since the war began compared to before the conflict. His data shows that according to the German Federal government, a total of 194,679 Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 entered Germany since the start of the war on 24 February 2022, with 171,260 of them remaining, as of May 31st of this year. The chance of nearly 200,000 military-aged men being legitimately certified as sick or disabled tests credibility.
Corruption is nothing new in Ukraine, as the country has consistently been rated one of the most corrupt countries in Europe along with Russia.
Even the head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court has been accused of taking bribes earlier this year in May. Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniaziev is accused of being bribed as much as €2.9 million and is the highest-ranking official to be arrested for bribery in the country’s history.
