Russians announce conscription in temporarily occupied territories of Kherson Oblast

Ukrainska Pravda — Wednesday, 2 October 2024, 15:35

The Russian-appointed leader of the temporarily occupied part of Kherson Oblast, Volodymyr Saldo, has announced the conscription of Ukrainian citizens from temporarily occupied territories into the Russian armed forces, starting on 1 October 2024, and continuing till the end of the year.

Source: Suspilne, Ukraine’s public broadcaster; Russian-appointed leader Saldo

Details: Yurii Sobolevskyi, First Deputy Head of Kherson Oblast Council, told Suspilne that, as of now, there is no visible mass preparation for conscription in the temporarily occupied areas. However, the statements made by the occupying authorities indicate plans to use the local population to meet the needs of the Russian forces.
Saldo stated that the conscripts would serve in units of Russia’s Southern Military District.
Sobolevskyi noted that the Russian occupiers promised not to involve conscripts in the so-called special military operation [as Russians call the war against Ukraine -ed].

Quote from Sobolevskyi: "We’ll see how this works in reality. It was clear that sooner or later the enemy would exploit our human resources, forcing our people to participate in this war. Russians are actively collecting information about potential conscripts through educational institutions, social registries, and medical insurance records. They are gathering information everywhere."

Details: Sobolevskyi also mentioned that Russian occupiers are encouraging people to report disloyalty to the Russian regime or support for Ukraine's armed forces, which may be used to identify individuals eligible for conscription.
Sobolevskyi emphasised that the only reliable way to avoid conscription is to leave the occupied territories for EU countries or other safe regions, but not to the Russian Federation.

Background:

Earlier, Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the autumn conscription in Russia from 1 October to 31 December. As he considers the occupied territories to be part of Russia, the forced ‘conscription’ will be carried out there as well.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry expressed its strong protest over this decision, reiterating that Russia is blatantly violating its international legal obligations, particularly the Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians during war.
The European Union condemned the conscription of Ukrainian citizens into the Russian troops on temporarily occupied territories as a violation of international law.
UK intelligence believes that Russia will continue forcing conscripts to sign contracts after completing their service, sending them to fight in the war against Ukraine.

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