Russian forces push forced recruitment in occupied Henichesk in southern Ukraine
Russian forces use familiar coercion tactics (photo: Getty Images)
The commandant's office in Henichesk, Kherson region, is using blackmail to pressure residents into signing contracts with the Russian military, the Atesh movement reports.
Agents of the movement report that due to heavy losses and an acute shortage of personnel on the southern axis, Russian authorities have switched to new methods of forced recruitment.
"Local administrative bodies under Russian control and the commandant's office use any opportunity to detain residents for minor offenses. Those detained are unlawfully held in the commandant's office. There, using threats, pressure, and blackmail, people are forced to sign contracts with the Russian armed forces," the statement says.
Such a cynical method demonstrates that the Russian leadership has completely failed recruitment efforts in the South and has moved to openly abducting and coercing people to replenish its ranks.
Atesh urges residents of Henichesk not to give in to blackmail and to avoid forced service, adding that their resistance is effective, the movement's press center noted.
In temporarily occupied Crimea, recruitment efforts by Russian-linked structures have intensified.
Representatives of military enlistment offices are visiting educational institutions and offering residents the option to sign a contract instead of serving conscription terms to gather "volunteers" and send them to the front.
In Russia, the number of contract recruits continues to fall and is now often insufficient to cover losses.
