It is interesting to see how Ukraine’s commitment to the protection of human rights looks in practice in 2025, at a time when the country has a realistic chance of joining the European Union on fast track.
Given Ukraine’s good prospects for EU membership and the fact that the country has been functioning under martial law since 2022 as a result of Russian’s a full-scale war, a closer look at this issue would seem particularly timely.
The poor conditions in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, primarily due to lack of manpower and professional management, are unlikely to be changed as a result of a recent major government reshuffle introduced by President Zelenskyy. In terms of conscription, it makes no difference whether Denys Shmychal is Prime Minister or Defence Minister of Ukraine.
In the process of integration, a candidate country needs to convince the European Union not only that it is committed to protecting human rights in theory, but also that it is ready to actually protect these rights in practice, even if this means taking actions against its own authorities.
At this point, it is necessary to mention martial law, the practical, everyday implementation of which undoubtably entails human rights violations on a daily basis. It is enough to mention that on the Internet you can find many videos of how the employees of the enlistment offices (Territorial Recruitment Offices) hunt down potential new conscripts. These conscription squads literally send Ukrainian men into hiding. It is also worth mentioning that medical certificates can grant exemption from the draft – as a rule, this leads to increased corruption.
Ukrainian men are eligible for the army from the ages of 25 to 60. Since the war began, the situation has been getting worse as it is getting more and more difficult to find Ukrainian men in the country who could be drafted. Military patrol officers responsible for mobilization have become increasingly brazen. The right to conscientious objection was abolished in Ukraine when martial law was declared in February 2022. Under pressure from European institutions, in March 2025, alternative service has been told necessary to introduce. Officials pledged this option would be considered in future legislation, without stating when. Since then, no further steps have been taken.
In Ukraine, there is ’mobilization’ as in October 2013, President Viktor Yanukovich ended conscription in the country. Despite this, Ukrainian men are conscripted into the Armed Forces of the country enforced with the use of patrols who often use physical force an coercion to round up men and send them to the frontline. Women are as of yet exempt from conscription but all medical workers in Ukraine, regardless of gender, are subject to be called up for service in case of a national emergency.
Violence during forced conscription in Ukraine is not new, BBC reported after an ethnic Hungarian was allegedly beaten to death after being forcibly conscripted on 14 June. Ukraine said in an official statement that, according to the results of a forensic medical examination, the cause of the death of the dual Ukrainian-Hungarian citizen was pulmonary embolism, with no signs of injuries that could indicate violence.
’We firmly reject any allegations of forced labor, inhuman treatment or human rights violations, whether by the Territorial Military Centers or other military officials.’, the official Ukrainian statement said. In addition, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry stated that Hungary’s attempts to manipulate individual cases of mobilization in Ukraine for political purposes are damaging Ukrainian-Hungarian relations. A ’transparent investigation’ has subsequently been launched into the case.
In its report, the BBC quoted Ukrainian ombudsman for human rights Dmytro Lubynets as saying that Ukrainians can adress him with complaints about unfair or violent conscription. Lubynets said recently that his office had received 3,500 complaints for human rights violations related to conscription in 2024, and more than 2,000 complaints so far this year. Criminal cases have been filed against more than 50 employees of conscription units, he said.
Since the beginning of the war in 2022, the number of Ukrainian military personnel killed is estimated to have reached several hundred thousand, but the exact figure is unknown as the country’s authorities refuse to disclose this information.
According to an estimate made by Ukrainian commanders in September 2024, 50% to 70% of Ukrainian conscripts are killed or wounded in their first few days in combat.
In wartime, who cares about protecting human rights in Ukraine?! At the very least, the EU should be concerned about this issue.
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