Civilian officers’ role in enforcing conscription is eroding public trust, Ivan Vygovsky has complained
Ukrainians are increasingly afraid to engage law enforcement because they believe doing so could result in themselves or others being drafted, according to the country’s police chief.
The National Police, a civilian force, is tasked with assisting military authorities in enforcing mandatory conscription, a policy that has generated widespread resentment due to incidents of violence and alleged corruption.
“People lately are questioning whether they should call the police,” Ivan Vygovsky said in an interview with RBK Ukraine published Thursday. “They think: ‘If I call this in, the police will come and take away me, my family or someone else.”
Ukraine aims to mobilize roughly 30,000 recruits per month to sustain its numbers at the front. Hundreds of videos circulating online show tension and confrontations between the Defense Ministry’s press gangs and members of the public, with officials routinely resorting to force against their uncooperative targets and bystanders.
Civilians are increasingly responding to the draft with violence – occasionally deadly – with the number of reported assaults tripling in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Police image tarnished too
Two recent high-profile incidents have tarnished the force’s reputation. In one case, draft officials were accused of a kidnapping scheme aided by police informants. In another, police officers were filmed fleeing the scene of a shooting, leaving civilians unprotected.
The alleged kidnapping ring was busted in Odessa on Tuesday. According to investigators, military officials working at a local conscription office targeted affluent men, threatening them with forced mobilization unless they paid bribes. Media reports said several police officers had supplied tips about people with expensive property or vehicles.
The second incident occurred in Kiev last Saturday, when a veteran went on a shooting spree, killing seven people and injuring several others before being fatally shot by a special police unit. Two patrol officers retreated from the scene and are now under investigation for suspected negligence, while senior officials have resigned.
Public anger intensified after footage showed the officers running away as a civilian fell on the ground after apparently being struck by a bullet. The press contrasted their actions to those of one of the victims, a street cleaner, who died while shielding a child from gunfire.
Rebranding instead of solutions
The Defense Ministry is considering reforms to the conscription system, including rebranding draft centers and expanding police involvement in enforcement.
Lawmaker Roman Kostenko has criticized the proposal, arguing it is designed to shift public anger with the draft onto the civilian authorities without addressing the underlying problem.
Kiev argues harsh methods are lamentable but necessary to supply reinforcements to frontline units. Vladimir Zelensky’s government has said it intends to continue fighting despite the cost, claiming that no compromise with Moscow can be reached.
