‘Everyone will fight.’ Ukrainian men weigh their options as new draft law comes into effect
CNN
The air at the Ukrainian military recruitment office where a 30-year-old hairdresser is being interviewed is filled with anxiety. The man has no military experience and is unsure whether any of his skills would be useful. At one point, the recruiter jokingly suggests that he might be able to give everyone a nice haircut.
The air at the Ukrainian military recruitment office where a 30-year-old hairdresser is being interviewed is filled with anxiety. The man has no military experience and is unsure whether any of his skills would be useful. At one point, the recruiter jokingly suggests that he might be able to give everyone a nice haircut. But the man – who asked to remain anonymous given his pending military status – is there anyway. “The time has come,” he told CNN. Under Ukraine’s new mobilization law, which came into effect on May 18, Ukrainian men are now facing a choice: Comply and face the possibility of being sent to the frontlines, or try to evade and risk penalties and condemnation. The hairdresser has chosen to pre-empt the choice and volunteered, becoming one of six men to be interviewed at the Da Vinci Wolves Battalion’s recruitment center in Kyiv that day. The office is housed in an ordinary residential building, hidden from the outside world. Inside though, the walls are decorated with photos and big banners showing the logo of the battalion, a drawing of three teeth-baring wolves inside a stylized Ukrainian trident. The unit’s recruitment slogan is “Everyone will fight” and the recruiter’s laptop is covered in stickers, one of them saying “Your pack is waiting for you.” Ukraine has made no secret of the urgent need to recruit more people as it tries to defend itself against the Russian aggression. While the government doesn’t reveal the number of dead and wounded, estimates made by experts speak of hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides of the conflict since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. One Ukrainian commander who asked not to be named for security reasons said the personnel shortages are having devastating effects on the battlefield.
