Since 2022, the Russians have forcibly mobilised from 55,000 to 60,000 Ukrainians in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
This was reported by the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defence Ministry of Ukraine Andriy Chernyak in a comment for the "Donbas Realities" program on Radio Liberty. According to him, the occupiers caught people just on the streets, and also searched for them in enterprises. "This is violent mobilisation: the occupiers caught people on the street, they came to the few businesses that were still working and forcibly took people away — they simply changed clothes and sent them to the front. They promised, they said, they would be on the second or third line, but in fact people ended up on the front lines", said a representative of military intelligence of Ukraine. In addition, the Russian army forces students from the occupied territories to fight for it.
"A person went to class in the morning and two days later he is fighting. Frankly speaking, Russia does not consider the residents of Donetsk and Luhansk regions to be human beings, so the occupiers do not care, the laws are not being applied. The only real possibility [to survive] is to surrender immediately, as soon as possible," Andriy Chernyak noted.
Forced mobilisation of the civilian population in the occupied territory is prohibited by the Geneva Convention (Article 51 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949).
For those who were sent to fight against Ukraine, there is a project "I want to live”. About 3,000 occupation troops address there every month. Russians who prefer to save their lives can contact "I want to live bot" (https://t.me/spasisebyabot).
It was developed as part of the "I want to live" state project. Through it, the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War receives appeals from servicemen and guarantees compliance with the Geneva Conventions on the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
There is also a hotline for Russians and their families. For information, call the following numbers: +38 066 580 34 98, +38 093 119 29 84.