Six organizers suspected of recruiting Ukrainians into the Russian military in the Kherson region have been charged

Six occupation officials have been charged with forcibly conscripting Ukrainians from the occupied Kherson region into the Russian army. They are accused of violating the laws and customs of war as part of a group. 

This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General. 

The individuals in question include the so-called governor of the Kherson region, four heads of occupation military registration and enlistment offices, and an official of the occupation administration responsible for mobilization efforts. The governor coordinated the system of forced mobilization. Under his orders, draft boards were established, the procedures for mobilization measures were determined, and coordination between the occupying authorities and the Russian Federation’s military structures was organized.

In July 2023, the so-called “Kherson Oblast Military Commissariat” was established in Henichesk. Through the agencies under his authority, data on men of draft age was collected in the occupied territory; they were registered for military service, and medical examinations and draft campaigns were organized.

Men were forced to participate in conscription activities under threat of violence, unlawful deprivation of liberty, travel restrictions, loss of access to social services, and deportation. In some cases, torture was used.

The investigation established that these individuals have already registered at least 2,700 residents of the temporarily occupied Kherson region for military service with the Russian Federation. According to the investigation, some of them have already been drafted into the armed forces of the aggressor state.

Earlier, a student facing forced mobilization was rescued from occupied Crimea. Artem, 19, said that instead of taking exams, young people were herded into meetings with Russian military officials, pressured to sign contracts, and forced to donate money to the occupying army. The young man also witnessed targeted repression against Crimean Tatars. 

Юлія Калабайда