Russia forcibly drafted over 46,000 Ukrainians into its army
Photo: Russia conscripts Ukrainians in temporarily occupied territories (Getty Images)
Russia has forcibly mobilized 46,327 Ukrainians who lived in the temporarily occupied territories. Most of those conscripted into the Russian military came from Crimea, stated Dmytro Usov, secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, at the Third International Crimea Global Conference, Ukrinform reports.
"We have established that 46,327 of our citizens were forcibly conscripted from the occupied territories, from annexed Crimea. These people are fighting against us," he emphasized.
According to Usov, 5,368 Ukrainians were forcibly mobilized in the Donetsk region, 4,650 in the Luhansk region, 560 in the Zaporizhzhia region, and 478 in the Kherson region. In Crimea, Russia mobilized 35,272 Ukrainians, and 5,368 in Sevastopol. He noted that these figures cover the period from the beginning of the full-scale invasion through July of this year. They were provided by Ukraine’s military intelligence and later confirmed by Russia.
Usov said that 16% of prisoners held in Ukrainian POW camps are Ukrainians, 6% of whom lived in occupied Crimea.
He also announced plans to introduce legislative amendments to the Verkhovna Rada that would allow Ukraine not to return Ukrainians from occupied territories to Russia during prisoner exchanges.
"We must make the right decisions when the Russian side requests their exchange, because these exchanges result in Ukrainians being swapped for Ukrainians. We must do everything to prevent them from being sent back to Russia and ensure they remain in Ukraine," Usov stressed.
According to him, Ukrainian courts have already issued acquittals for some Ukrainians currently held captive in Russia.
Mobilization in the occupied territories
Russia’s authorities are attempting to legalize the forced mobilization of residents of the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.
Russian lawmakers have adopted a law allowing military conscription year-round—from January 1 to December 31. Formally, it also applies to the occupied regions of Ukraine.
