Russia Imposes Forced Enlistment in Occupied Ukraine Contrary to International Law

Young people from the occupied regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson are being sent by the Kremlin to serve in the Russian Armed Forces. The first reports came from Bataisk, in the Rostov region, and Simferopol, Crimea on Nov 16 when ceremonies marking for their deployment took place.

According to the Izvestia Russian news agency, the conscripts will not be sent to the front lines but will serve in units of Russia’s Southern Military District, in Rostov, Krasnodar Krai, and annexed Crimea. During enlistment, conscripts undergo medical examinations, are fingerprinted, allocated a military trade, and issued with identity cards.

The conducting by Russia of a compulsory conscription campaign in the occupied territories of Ukraine, is a gross violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Under this resolution, an occupying power is prohibited from forcing individuals to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces, as well as from exerting pressure or conducting propaganda to encourage voluntary enlistment in the military.

However, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, residents of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples’ Republics (DNR and LNR) have been forcibly recruited into their “people's militia,” often without proper equipment or training, and have been sent into combat, which has led to significant losses from among those individuals. In the fall of 2022, units from these self-proclaimed republics were integrated into the Russian army, which in turn contributed to even greater losses and problems in their combat potential.

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Conscripts sent for mandatory service with Russian forces inevitably end up on the front line despite a lack of training and proper equipment, notwithstanding promises to the contrary, where they often join units that are already actively engaged in fighting, resulting in heavy losses among the new recruits.

On Oct. 1, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strong protest against the forced mobilization of its citizens into the Russian armed forces in the occupied territories. Kyiv condemned Russia's actions, which violate international law and the sovereignty of the country.

“We urge Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied territories to do everything possible to avoid such ‘conscription,’ and those who are forcibly recruited into the army of the aggressor state should, at the first opportunity, leave such units and return to the territory of Ukraine or travel to third countries,” the statement read.