Many dodge serving in Ukrainian army
Much of nation detached from fight with rebels
KIEV, UKRAINE Kostyantyn Kovba never answers calls from unknown numbers on his mobile phone. The 23-year-old is afraid a military commissioner might summon him to serve in Ukraine’s army to fight pro-Russian separatists in the east.
When he visits his mother’s house, they shutter the windows, in case a commissioner drops by. “We never even barbecue in the yard, because they may see and come over,” he said.
Kovba is one of 39,000 Ukrainians who have dodged military service in the first two months of 2015, according to the latest government figures. That’s nearly 16% of the numbers of soldiers in the Ukrainian army.
“Serving in the army is a waste of time,” said Kovba, who’s building his mobile phone accessories business. “I could spend that time learning something new.”
Draft dodgers underscore the government’s difficulty in mobilizing young men to help keep the country united in the face of a potent rebel force better equipped, thanks to Russian weaponry.
One reason is that many civilians feel distanced from the fighting that has consumed two of Ukraine’s eastern provinces bordering Russia.
A recent poll by the Kiev-based Razumkov Center found that 41% of Ukrainians said the war didn’t affect them even though the insurgents want to cleave off a sizable chunk of the country that is rich in coal and dotted by steel foundries. Their relatives and friends don’t serve in the military, they don’t live near the fighting, and they don’t donate funds to support the troops or Ukrainians displaced by the violence.
Since independence in 1991, Ukraine has been divided between citizens who view themselves as European, dominant in the west and center of the country, and pro-Russian, dominant in the east. As a result, some may be reluctant to fight to retain regions close to Russia, said Vitaly Chernetsky, an Odessa native and University of Kansas professor who is president of the American Association of Ukrainian Studies.
Last year, protesters in Kiev, the capital, forced the ouster of Russian-aligned President Viktor Yanukovych after he used deadly force against demonstrations over his refusal to sign an eco- for my country here,” he said. “Someone has to build a decent country for the returning soldiers.”
Yuriy Biriukov, a military adviser to Poroshenko, criticized men like Kovba. “He shouts, ‘Glory to Ukraine’ and tells everyone how patriotic he is,” Biriukov wrote of a fictional draft dodger in a Facebook post. “But he is also a cowardly brute. He hides from the military commission, changes his phone number, packs his stuff and goes to Romania, Hungary or Poland. And sits there, proud of how smart he is.”
Kovba and others avoiding military service cite reasons other than cowardice: too little compensation to families of soldiers who are killed and so little equipment compared with the rebels that citizens must hold fundraisers to provide basic items.
Dodging conscription is a crime, though most found guilty are given probationary sentences.
Kovba avoided punishment because his mother told authorities he left Ukraine to work abroad. Under Ukrainian law, he’s dodging the draft only if officials personally serve him a subpoena to report for duty.
Oles Shevchenko, 23, a student from Kiev, expects to be called up soon because a military commissioner called his parents to warn of an upcoming military subpoena. Raised in a patriotic family, Shevchenko said he feels a duty to protect his land. “‘If not me, then who?’ ” he said. “But at the same time, I’m very scared to die now, before I’ve accomplished anything in life.”
Shevchenko hopes he won’t need to choose between joining the army or facing shame for avoiding service. “If only this war ended,” he said. “I wouldn’t even have to make this choice.”