“During street checks, military enlistment officers don’t look at state registries but at lists of those who bribed the recruitment centers”, – political strategist

In Western Ukraine, employees of Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRCs) are allegedly checking military conscripts not against official registries, but against lists of those who have paid bribes.

This information reported according to political strategist Serhii Haidai. He made the statement during the YouTube talk show “I Suggest You Become President” on the channel ProUA, speaking with his guest, historian and journalist Danylo Yanevskyi.

“I go to Western Ukraine and people tell me, ‘Listen, we all know the price lists.’ Moreover, when TRC officers approach someone, they ask for their surname. Then they pull out a slip of paper: ‘Ah, yes, he paid.’ This is no secret; it’s not some kind of Russian psy-op. Sorry, but when people tell me as a propaganda specialist, ‘You know, all these stories are Russian information warfare,’ I say: ‘You don’t get it! Did Russian psy-ops force TRC officers to do this? Did they make them film this stuff? No,’” Haidai said.

Earlier, a serviceman of Ukraine’s 46th Brigade also reported widespread extortion of bribes from conscripts, listing the going rates for such “services.” According to him, it costs 20,000 hryvnias (approx. $500) to leave the TRC building even after being issued a draft notice.