Ukrainian journalist faces 15 years in jail after calls to boycott the draft

[rogerashton]

A court in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk has ordered the arrest of a local freelance journalist on charges of espionage and high treason after he published a video on YouTube calling on Ukrainian citizens to boycott the mobilisation of Ukrainian men to fight a ‘fratricidal war’ in Ukraine’s east.

Kotsaba argues that the mobilisation campaign – which is currently in its fourth stage – is unlawful since a state of war has never been officially declared in the country. The Ukrainian authorities have officially designated the military action in the east an ‘anti-terrorist operation.’

https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/zoya-kravchuk/ukrainian-journalist-faces-15-years-in-jail-after-calls-to-boycott-draft

Calling for draft evasion -- a crime, presumably -- would get you arrested in most countries. Who knows whether he is right about the Ukrainian conscription being illegal? I for one don't know.

[Jake Stern]

1. Being a crime does not make calling on

your fellow man to dodge the draft morally wrong.

A better question: why can't the Ukrainian armed forces find volunteers to fill it's ranks?

[braddy]

2. While Russia depends on 1 year draftees that make up most of their military, it is new to Ukraine.

[rogerashton]

3. Evasion

I didn't keep the source, but I read that evasion is massive, with young men of draft age leaving the country (mostly for the west) and the government attempting to limit travel in order to prevent it.

[braddy]

4. The source matters, but Russia is infamous for it's draft problems, Ukraine had ended their draft,

but had to re institute for this invasion by Russia. Russia depends on 1 year draftees for it's military.