The Ombudsman recorded over 1,600 complaints regarding the actions of territorial recruitment centers during mobilization
In the first five months of 2025, the Verkhovna Rada’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, received more than 1,600 appeals from citizens concerning the actions of military commissariats (TCC) and the recruitment and conscription services (SP) during the active mobilization period. This indicates the scale of problems and grievances from military personnel and their families, revealing systemic shortcomings in the organization and implementation of mobilization measures. The information was provided in a response from the Ombudsman’s secretariat to a request from “Ukrainska Pravda,” which states that throughout 2023, approximately 1,500 complaints were received regarding rights violations during mobilization. In 2024, the number of appeals exceeded 3,300, and already in the first five months of 2025, there were over 1,600 complaints — almost as many as in the entire previous year. According to representatives of the Ombudsman, these figures reflect a growing number of cases of dissatisfaction and problems faced by the mobilized personnel and their relatives during the mobilization process. At the same time, the responses note that back in 2022, when the first wave of mobilization measures was introduced, only 18 complaints regarding rights during conscription were received, highlighting a significant increase in subsequent years. This growth is attributed to heightened public and military attention to the mobilization process, as well as possible abuses and malicious actions by some officials and staff of the TCC. At the same time, these statistics shed light on deeper systemic issues within the recruitment and conscription system, causing significant concern among human rights organizations and lawmakers. The background of this issue is linked to a high-profile incident in spring 2023, when former military medic Roman “Yoda” Zamriy accused military and law enforcement agencies of holding him for three days without communication, food, or water at the Chernivtsi Territorial Recruitment Center, despite his known deferment from mobilization. The incident provoked widespread public resonance and raised questions about the rights of mobilized individuals. Subsequently, it was revealed that the detention was related to the fact that the serviceman had not updated his documents to obtain a deferment, which served as a procedural pretext for his detention. Currently, the Military Law Enforcement Service is conducting an additional investigation into the operations of the territorial center where the Zamriy incident occurred. He is now serving as the battalion medical officer, which adds complexity to the assessment of the situation. Overall, the situation highlights systemic problems in the mobilization process in Ukraine. Shortcomings in the work of TCCs, lack of transparency in procedures, possible abuses, and an imperfect document management system contribute to many mobilized individuals and their families feeling vulnerable, with their complaints often overlooked. Given the scale of appeals and increasing societal tension, it is crucial that state institutions not only respond to individual cases but also work towards systematically improving the mobilization process, ensuring the rights of every Ukrainian involved in the war are protected.