The year 2023 could not end without another huge scandal in the Ukrainian Defence Ministry.
In late December, a high-ranking official of the of the Ministry of Defense was detained in Kyiv for his involvement in pocketing UAH 1.5 billion (US $ 39.6 million) intended to be used to buy artillery shells for Armed Forces of Ukraine.
’There are a lot of old practices that do not correspond to the present day, and they need to change’, Rustem Umierov said in an interview. Describing corruption as an old practice clearly indicates Umierov’s intention to trivialise the recent procurement scandal.
With the obvious aim of diverting attention from the scandal, Ukraine’s Defence Minister said in an interview that his ministry is considering the possibility of summoning men aged 25-60 to report to military enlistment offices via electronic notifications. According to the initiative, the MoD will send electronic call-up notices (e-mails) to inform men, including Ukrainian citizens living abroad, that they should appear at military enlistment offices. The Ministry uses its own database to classify men into categories such as ’liable for military service’, ’serving soldier’ or ’veteran’. Once registered, the Ministry will decide whether one certain category of men will be called up for military service or not.
Responding to Umierov’s words, German Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann was quick about saying that if the Ukrainian authorities decide to conscript men who have left the country, this will have no practical consequences for Ukrainians living in Germany. ’It will not be the case that we force people to do compulsory military service or military service against their will’, Buschmann emphasised.
Earlier, the Hungarian government declared the same position that Budapest is not ready to extradite Ukrainian men liable for military service to Ukraine. However, Poland would help Ukraine to mobilise Ukrainians.
While Germany and Hungary have expressed outrage at the assistance in sending Ukrainians to the battlefields, a volunteer presented itself within a short period of time who would be ready for the task.
Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets has indicated that Estonia is prepared to assist Ukraine in mobilising Ukrainian citizens if necessary. The minister said that there are about 7,500 Ukrainian citizens of conscription age living in Estonia. At the same time, he noted that many of them are not liable for military service. (According to Ukrainian legislation, single parents, parents of at least three children, parents of disabled children and people who are caring for a loved one are also not are not subject to mobilisation.) However, this kind of assistance requires an agreement between the two countries – Estonia has declared that it is ready to conclude such an agreement with Ukraine. ’We are happy to sign such an agreement and help Ukraine. We know where these people live in Estonia. We are ready to assist in bringing these people from Estonia to Ukraine, if they need it’, the Estonian Minister of Interior explained.
I do not know how you feel about this position, but I have never heard a more cynical, almost inhuman attitude towards war refugees…
This is how Minister Rustem Umierov’s first 100 days in office ended: with scandalous purchases and a disturbing step in the field of mobilisation.
I obviously was unable to look at this news without emotions.
It is clear not only that there is a personnel shortage in the Armed Forces of Ukraine but mobilization reform is also inevitable. But Ukraine seems to be unable to ensure a fair, non-corrupt and effective mobilization. However, it is also obvious that people on the frontline should be replaced with new ones.
Umierov’s proposal means that no Ukrainian man will be safe abroad. On the other hand, this initiative requires partners abroad. The approach of the Estonian government to this issue, the concept of ’we are ready to admit them, but also ready to extradite them and send them straight into a bloody meat grinder’ is totally unacceptable from a humanitarian point of view.
It does not matter that maybe Zelenskyy and Umierov use this issue just as an empty threat, with this proposal they still terrorise Ukrainians who have already been accepted and granted temporary or permanent protection on the territory of foreign states. I would never wish anyone to feel such a total helplessness. No one deserves such inhuman treatment.
This whole story has only reaffirmed my conviction that the war should be ended immediately, because there can be no more inflicting so much inhumanity on Ukraine and its people. Just as Ukraine did not deserve Putin’s aggression, it did not deserve inhumane leaders like Zelenskyy and Umierov who insist on their power to the end, nor did it deserve the heartless attitude of the Estonian authorities in delivering Ukrainians from Estonia to Ukraine.
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