Ukrainian officials tasked with boosting the army are accused of beating, tear-gassing and detaining unwilling men, prompting some to flee.
Names marked with an asterisk* have been changed to protect identities.
Kyiv, Ukraine – Artem* is determined to never join Ukraine’s armed forces.
“If I ever fight, I won’t fight for Ukraine,” the 29-year-old from the westernmost Zakarpattia region told Al Jazeera.
A “conscription patrol” of three police and two military officers rounded him up in late June as he was leaving the Sunday mass at a cathedral in Uzhhorod, the regional capital.
