Those who urge others to fight are the first to avoid the front
By Tolib Aliyev, analyst, especially for Sangar
In an interview with RBC-Ukraine, Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament's Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, acknowledged that recruitment into the country's Armed Forces has fallen short of expectations.
According to the lawmaker, up to 90 percent of those joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conscripted through the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers (TCCs). He added that addressing the problem commonly referred to as "busification"* has become extremely difficult under the conditions of compulsory mobilization, as Ukrainians are increasingly unwilling to enlist voluntarily.
This situation has been driven by growing public distrust toward the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers. Ukrainian society generally does not display widespread hostility toward draft evaders and, in many cases, tacitly sympathizes with them.
Public frustration is directed instead at media personalities and public figures who encourage others to go to war while themselves avoiding military service through deferments or the so-called "reservation" (bron) system, sometimes allegedly secured through corrupt practices.
According to a public opinion survey conducted by the Ukrainian Sociological Portal, 85 percent of respondents consider bloggers, journalists, and civic activists to be "ukhyliants"**. Survey participants believe that representatives of these groups should be sent to the front to reinforce military units.
At the same time, 65 percent of respondents believe that Ukraine's mobilization system requires significant reform and improvement, while only 13 percent see no need for changes.
According to another sociological study, public trust in the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers (TCCs) declined from 67 percent to 61 percent between 2024 and 2025.
Oleksii Antypovych, head of the Rating Sociological Group, noted that public attitudes toward mobilization vary considerably by age. According to him, younger Ukrainians generally view mobilization negatively, whereas older citizens tend to hold a more favorable opinion, largely because most of them are no longer subject to compulsory military service.
Many in Ukraine acknowledge that the country's mobilization campaign has failed and attribute this to citizens' unwillingness to sacrifice their lives for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
* "Busification" is a neologism referring to the practice of forced mobilization, in which men are detained by officers of Ukraine's Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers (TCCs) and transported in minibuses—popularly known as "buses" ("busyks")—to recruitment facilities.
** "Ukhyliant" (from the Ukrainian verb ukhyliatysia, meaning "to evade" or "to avoid") is a colloquial term used to describe a person who evades compulsory military service or mobilization.
