Ukrainian general: NOBODY can sit out the draft, and ALL MUST FIGHT

04/15/2024 / By Ramon Tomey

A Ukrainian general has emphasized that “all must fight” against Russia and nobody can sit out the draft.

Lt. Gen. Oleksandr Pavliuk, the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces (UGF), made this call in an April 8 post on Facebook. He exhorted Ukrainians to “put aside their emotions” and enlist in the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU). The UGF, which Pavliuk leads, is one of eight branches under the AFU.

“The army and the people are inseparable, [and] the protection of the state is the constitutional duty of a citizen,” the general wrote. “It is necessary to understand that no one can sit this out. The [fate] of the country [and] the fate of our people is at stake.”

Pavliuk also stressed that no matter how much help in the form of money or weapons Ukraine receives from other countries, the beleaguered country still lacks manpower. He also suggested that Russia would spare no one in the fighting – “neither those who hid, nor those who betrayed Ukraine.”

The UGF commander also noted the negative attitude of Ukrainians toward the employees of Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRCs), which are in charge of military mobilization. Such hostility against TRC staffers was unacceptable, he said, as many of them were veterans. Pavliuk stressed that citizens “have no right to make them feel guilty, unwanted or unsafe before those whose lives they literally saved.”

He also admitted that the military mobilization system “is not perfect.” Despite this, the general mentioned that the government in Kyiv is working on improving it. (Related: Young male Ukrainians hide in their homes after fears of forced conscription.)

Pavliuk previously said he felt no sympathy for any Ukrainians who had died while trying to avoid compulsory military service. He remarked that no such feelings should be expressed toward draft dodgers because doing so undermines mobilization efforts.

“All must fight,” but circus performers get a pass

In a separate report by Russia Today published on April 8, Ukraine reportedly issued exemptions for certain sectors of the population – including circus performers – under the “category of special strategic importance.” Individuals being classified under this category, the outlet added, meant that they were not subject to forced military conscription. Two members of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s unicameral parliament, confirmed these exemptions.

According to People’s Deputy (PD) Yaroslav Zheleznyak, six circus troupes including the Traveling Circus of Ukraine were classified under this category. The troupes were designated as “critically important enterprises… for the functioning of the economy and ensuring the livelihoods of the population during a special period,” he posted on his Telegram channel.

PD Oleksiy Goncharenko also confirmed the designation of the circus troupes and their subsequent exemption from the draft. He pointed out that the list of strategically important enterprises does not include companies from the defense industry. Paint and plaster producers, video game publishers, and even a company that breeds camels are instead exempt from the draft.

Zheleznyak quipped that those must be special “combat camels” that merited the camel breeder’s inclusion in the critical enterprises’ list. His colleague Goncharenko ultimately remarked that this did not come as a surprise, since the mobilization and exemption procedures in Ukraine have “turned into a circus long ago.”

Visit UkraineWitness.com for more stories about Ukraine’s forced military conscription.

Watch this clip that discusses Ukraine drafting people with mental disabilities into the frontlines.

This video is from the I AM A PERSON channel on Brighteon.com.