Armenian Weekly. How an Armenian volunteer was deceived at a military recruitment center
Since February 24, 2022, Ukraine has been fiercely fighting against Russia, which invaded its territory and occupied four regions. The armed conflict has lasted over three years, and at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, Ukraine continues to defend its freedom and independence from the aggressor.
In any armed conflict, the primary burden of losses falls on those on the front lines, directly facing the enemy’s main assault. In the harsh realities of the war in Ukraine, such soldiers are commonly referred to as “stormtroopers”—they advance and counterattack, while also holding defensive lines against the enemy’s onslaught. The risk of death for those in so-called “storm units” increases exponentially.
Ukraine’s pre-war military recruitment system has proven ineffective, leading to the replacement of the outdated Soviet-era military commissariats with Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers. These centers were tasked with detailed accounting and mobilization of reservists. The revamped mobilization framework was meant to quickly address the shortage of motivated personnel and ensure a steady flow of citizens into military service to bolster the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
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Later, recruitment units were established within AFU brigades, conducting informational and promotional campaigns in Ukrainian cities to attract potential recruits to their specific units.
However, as the situation on the front lines shows, neither the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers nor the brigades’ recruitment units have fully succeeded in their tasks. As the shortage of personnel grows, Ukrainian authorities have launched new state programs to recruit volunteers, stimulating them with financial rewards and the opportunity to choose their military specialization and unit.