The Zelensky regime appears to be scraping the bottom of the barrel for more cannon fodder as Kiev's counteroffensive flounders, with no tangible results in sight. These dismal facts have been a serious disappointment among Ukraine's Western donors.
Consequently, a general mobilization has been announced in Kiev, as the Ukrainian military suffers mounting losses of manpower and Western-gifted equipment.
A corresponding order was signed by the military commissar of the Obolonsky district of the Ukrainian capital, Alexey Privala, According to media reports, the directive was posted on social media, and reprinted by Ukrainian outlets.
The decree makes it mandatory for every man subject to be drafted to report to the nearest military recruitment office within the next 10 days. As part of the blanket call-up of all draftees, the order applies even to those who did not receive a personal summons. It also applies to those who are not registered in the Obolonsky district of Kiev, but simply residing there temporarily.
All draft evaders will face criminal penalties, the order stated. There is no clarity whether similar directives have been issued regarding other districts of the Ukrainian capital.
A general mobilization of "human and transport resources" was earlier announced in Ivano-Frankovsk Region in western Ukraine. Men of military age were reportedly being pulled off the streets or wherever possible, even in hospitals. According to the orders, hospitals were said to be banned from admitting men of enlistment age for treatment without prior permission from the military registration and enlistment office.
Ukrainian men subject to conscription for military service have been trying to dodge being sent to the frontlines. Locals in Kiev and other large cities are believed to coordinate their efforts through Telegram channels to avoid being handed a summons from the military enlistment office.
Judging by a video circulating on social media posted by eyewitnesses, in Ternopol, a city in Ukraine's west, local military commissars grab the personal belongings of would-be Ukrainian soldiers, dragging them away by force.
According to local reports, Ukraine’s Chernigov Region was dismally failing to meet its mobilization quota, with over 20,000 people disregarding their summons.
Almost 1.3 million men officially left the country during the first year after the escalation of hostilities. These were individuals who received permission despite martial law, prohibiting men aged 18 to 60 from leaving Ukraine.
The news of this call-up comes as the Ukrainian military has so far failed in all directions of their counteroffensive, despite receiving billions of dollars' worth of military equipment from the US and its NATO allies. The Ukrainian counteroffensive in the South Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Artyomovsk directions started on June 4. However, in the first week alone, the Kiev regime's forces suffered thousands of casualties, along with more than a dozen German Leopard 2 tanks, and close to two dozen US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) going up in smoke.
It looks like Western countries are ready to fight until the last Ukrainian, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday during a meeting with the Security Council, adding:
"[Military] equipment, of course, can be supplied additionally. But the mobilization reserve is not unlimited."
Kiev has already lost over 13,000 people during its counteroffensive, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev noted.