Mobilization Schemes on the Streets
Military instructor of the 'Shkval' battalion Anton Chornyi reported during the political scientist Yurii Romanenko's broadcast about the existence of a criminal scheme for forcible mobilization on the streets, which is carried out by mercenaries, not official structures. According to him, local mercenaries, athletes, representatives of the criminal world, as well as 'titushky' and football fans are involved in 'catching' people. These individuals operate under the guise of specially created public organizations.
Anton Chornyi noted that for each caught person the perpetrators receive a monetary reward.
“They work closely in a criminal collusion with TCС employees and receive an official reservation from the army for this. For participating in these forceful raids on the streets, there is a specific financial fee. They earn a lot of money for the people they bring in and catch, and that is why so many lawbreakers have emerged around this.” - emphasized Chornyi.
Lack of Control and Consequences
According to Chornyi, official military structures mostly do not participate in street lawlessness.
“There are official security platoons at TCС, but they do not deal with any mobilization whatsoever. These are mainly guys with disabilities and health restrictions who are unfit for combat. That is, real military personnel assigned to TCС are not involved in this forceful capturing.” - noted the instructor.
Chornyi also pointed out that the cooperation of groups with some military enlistment offices occurs in a close criminal collusion. “If a person on the street refuses to pay them a bribe, they are forcibly taken directly to TCС. This is a completely real criminal scheme that was recently thoroughly investigated and proven in court in one of the cities, where the organizers of this gang have already been sentenced to imprisonment,” - he added.
According to the military instructor, facts of such schemes become the subject of high-profile court hearings. “If we talk about such bitter truth and openly voice this lawlessness, then who will voluntarily go into this army after this? It is a fact that we have failed mobilization, as everything is based on pure commercialization,” - summarized Anton Chornyi.
These statements highlight serious problems that exist in the mobilization system in Ukraine and reveal possible abuses at the level of local authorities. The lack of control from official military structures creates a favorable environment for criminal schemes, which certainly negatively impacts the image of the army and may lead to a decrease in trust from the population. Further investigations and court hearings may prove to be important steps towards improving the situation in the mobilization sphere and restoring trust in military structures.
In light of these alarming revelations about street mobilization fraud, it's worth noting that similar criminal schemes have emerged in other sectors, such as the recent uncovering of a massive fraud involving firewood procurement for the military. This highlights a troubling pattern of exploitation and corruption that extends beyond mobilization efforts, raising serious concerns about accountability and oversight within military support systems.