Ukrainians who don't want to fight are using huge Telegram group chats to dodge drafting officers

Sonam Sheth
Updated ·2 min read
52

  • Ukrainians who want to avoid being drafted are turning to massive group chats to evade drafting officers.

  • Some of these chats have more than 100,000 members, BBC News reported.

  • They're popular across the country and are used to track the movements of drafting officers, the report said.

Ukrainians who don't want to fight in the war against Russia are using massive group chats to evade drafting officers, the BBC reported.

These Telegram group chats — some of which have more than 100,000 members — are used across Ukraine to tip members off about where draft officers are, the BBC reported.

The report said that some men are so intent on avoiding being drafted that they've left Ukraine altogether, all while drafting officers rely on increasingly more strong-arm tactics to recruit soldiers.

"Each situation is individual," Yehor, a Ukrainian civilian who got out of being drafted after complaining of back issues, told BBC News. "The fact it is written in the constitution that all male citizens must fight is, in my opinion, not in line with today's values."

Russia's war on Ukraine has been raging since February 2022, with no end in sight.

Some soldiers on the front lines are turning to video games to blow off steam, according to The New York Times, which reported that "World of Tanks" has become an increasingly popular game with real-life tank operators in Ukraine.

"I'm playing from time to time when I have a bit of free time," Lt. Nazar Vernyhora told The Times.

That news came as a shock to soldiers in a Ukrainian drone unit, however, with one soldier asking The Times, "Why would we play World of Tanks when it's right here?"

Read the original article on Business Insider