Ukraine’s war is getting worse. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to fight | GlobalPost
▻http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/150131/ukraine-war-getting-worse-unfortunately-not-everyone-wants-fight
Ruslan Kotsaba is someone you’d typically consider a Ukrainian patriot: a journalist in the country’s nationalist-oriented west, he’s participated in pro-democracy protests and regularly rails against official corruption.
So it may seem strange that earlier this month he slammed his country’s war effort against Russian-backed separatists.
“I denounce mobilization [for war],” Kotsaba said in a video posted to YouTube on Jan. 17. “I call on all reasonableadequatepeopleto denounce this mobilization, because this hell, this horror, must be stopped.”
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Local media have reported anti-draft protests and instances of no-shows at local military commissions in several regions.
A presidential adviser even claimed earlier this week that about 37 percent of those called up in one western region, traditionally known for its nationalist convictions, had reportedly fled abroad. In a separate nearby region, almost one in five of those drafted reportedly claimed religious exemptions.
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Ukrainian men aged 25-60 are eligible for conscription. Preference is given to those with military experience and with particular specializations, such as tank training.
But authorities have also sought to crack down on attempts to avoid conscription. On Friday, Poroshenko issued a decree that includes a provision aimed at regulating foreign travel for those subject to mobilization.
The military has also created a database to keep track of offenders, who face two to five years in prison if found guilty of dodging the draft.
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Some Ukrainian rights activists have also taken issue with the legal ambiguity of the conflict, arguing that in absence of a clear state of war, conscripts can legally challenge the draft. Others say mobilization is legally applicable in any instances of “armed aggression,” not only when martial law — or a state of war — is formally declared.