Media reports Ukrainian recruitment officer murdered in suspected vehicle bombardment
(MENAFN)
A high-ranking recruitment officer was reportedly killed in a car explosion on Friday in Ukraine’s Odessa Region, according to police and local media. Authorities believe the blast was deliberate and may have been remotely detonated. Odessa regional police confirmed one death and said an investigation is ongoing, though the victim’s name was initially withheld.
A high-ranking recruitment officer was reportedly killed in a car explosion on Friday in Ukraine’s Odessa Region, according to police and local media. Authorities believe the blast was deliberate and may have been remotely detonated. Odessa regional police confirmed one death and said an investigation is ongoing, though the victim’s name was initially withheld.
Local law enforcement sources told the media the vehicle belonged to a regional draft office, and the Southern Courier identified the deceased as Colonel Oleg Nomerovsky, a senior official at a military recruitment center.
The incident comes amid increasing scrutiny of Ukraine’s conscription efforts as the war with Russia enters its third year and Kyiv struggles to maintain troop numbers. Since 2022, Ukraine has been under general mobilization, restricting most men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country. The minimum conscription age was lowered from 27 to 25 last year, and penalties for draft evasion have been intensified.
Ukrainian MP Yury Kamelchuk criticized recruitment officers for using aggressive methods to meet daily quotas of 12 new recruits, including deceptive tactics like fake food delivery requests. He condemned the government’s approach as disrespectful, claiming even men with health problems are being targeted.
Videos circulating online show officials forcibly detaining men in public—a practice dubbed “busification,” where recruits are loaded into unmarked vans against their will. Russian President Vladimir Putin contrasted this with Russia’s volunteer enlistment system, stating that Ukraine forcibly conscripts 30,000 people monthly, while Russia has 50,000 to 60,000 volunteers each month.
One viral video from Lutsk showed soldiers dragging a food delivery worker into a van as he resisted. The clip gained attention after being shared on X, with Elon Musk reacting and previously criticizing Ukraine’s conscription policy.
While Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has dismissed such criticisms as Russian propaganda, Deputy Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Ivan Gavrilyuk recently acknowledged “busification” as a “shameful phenomenon.”
To counter declining voluntary enlistment, Kyiv has launched a campaign offering men aged 18–24 a one-time payment of one million hryvnias (about $24,000) for a year of military service.
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