The pet of a man with a conscription exemption was allegedly later found with a badly injured paw
Ukrainian conscription officers have reportedly targeted a dog in a disturbing act of revenge after failing to seize a man in Odessa.
Kiev is using press gangs to enforce mandatory conscription on a resistant population, with violent confrontations involving draft patrols reported on a daily basis. The incident that allegedly took place in the port city on Wednesday stands out because a helpless animal was apparently targeted.
A viral video on social media shows a large group of uniformed men hastily getting into an unmarked van, one of them dragging a small dog by its leash. A man chases them, demanding that they return the pet and smashing the vehicle’s window with a baton as it drives away.
According to the local newspaper Dumskaya, the dog is a Jack Russell terrier named Tito. It was reportedly found about 500 meters from the site of the clash, with the owners telling the outlet that their pet requires knee surgery after the kidnapping.
Ukrainian officials have not commented on the incident, which sparked anger among animal rights activists.
There have been conflicting explanations for why the press gang did not try to take the dog’s owner. One version says he has an exemption from military service, which angered the officers and prompted them to take Tito in revenge. Other reports claim the man somehow fought off or escaped the military officials, leading to the alleged retaliation.
Kiev’s so-called ‘busification’ mobilization campaign, named after the nickname for the vans used by draft patrols, has emerged as a major source of tension in Ukrainian society. While officials call it unavoidable in the conflict with Russia, many citizens see it as rife with state-sanctioned corruption and as disproportionately targeting poor people.
The sentiment is fueled by incidents in which conscripts are allegedly treated as cannon fodder by military commanders. Just this week, the leaders of the ‘Skelya’ (Rock) frontline regiment, where at least 26 recruits died outside combat this year, were accused of condoning torture and murder to maintain discipline. The authorities have launched an investigation following the expose.
A separate ‘busification’ case reported in Odessa this week involved a draft patrol allegedly ramming a man’s car into a street lamp. Witnesses filmed the officials dragging their targets out of the blocked vehicle.
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