Similar document checks took place nationwide at concerts and performances that Friday night, a sign of a new phase in Ukraine’s attempts to enforce its draft laws.
In Cherkasy, a city in central Ukraine, draft officers showed up after a performance of the stand-up comedian Anton Tymoshenko. In Brovary, a suburb of Kyiv, they checked documents after a concert by a local band, 100lytsia. Recruitment efforts also took place in Kharkiv, Dnipro and other large cities. In Kharkiv, a concert was canceled after officers turned up to check the draft status of the band members.
The third year of the war has found Ukraine mostly on the defensive, losing ground against a Russian Army with superior numbers.
Although Ukrainian officials say that they have been successful in meeting mobilization targets, troops on the front lines have complained that reinforcements are often old, poorly trained or suffering from health problems.
“We are running out,” said one soldier, Lt. Maksym, who is serving at the front and asked to be identified only by his first name for security reasons. His brigade, the 28th, has lost many soldiers and its commander.