A musician revealed how TV host Ostapchuk received a deferment from mobilization after a call to the Verkhovna Rada

A new scandal has erupted online over allegations of “selective mobilization” in Ukraine, where individuals with connections are said to avoid conscription.

The frontman of the Ukrainian band Our Atlantic, Viktor Bayda, shared on Instagram that he encountered the well-known TV host Volodymyr Ostapchuk during a military medical commission. Ostapchuk allegedly received a one-month deferment after making a “call to a friend in the Verkhovna Rada.”

Bayda claimed that Ostapchuk was the only one to arrive at the commission escorted by police. Furthermore, the TV host supposedly underwent the military medical commission out of turn and boasted about it.

“After passing the express military medical commission, we were all taken to the Shevchenko Territorial Recruitment Center, including Ostapchuk (there were seven of us in total). At the recruitment center, where Volodymyr also arrived, we were told to wait and that we would not be returning home. Panic ensued among us since we were given little information. We discussed possible scenarios together. Ostapchuk said that we had no choice and that we all had to serve,” Bayda wrote.

He added that Ostapchuk allegedly called a friend in the Verkhovna Rada and managed to avoid mobilization as a result.

“By 11:00 PM, we were all sitting on a bus waiting to be taken to the distribution point at DVRZ (a residential area in the eastern part of Kyiv, named after the Darnytsia Railway Car Repair Plant), all except Volodymyr Ostapchuk. Later in the barracks, I learned from a guy in our mobilized group that before leaving for DVRZ, Ostapchuk called a friend in the Rada and got a one-month deferment. According to the guy (whose name I won’t disclose), he heard this from Ostapchuk himself when he was talking to police and recruitment center representatives,” Bayda noted.

Ostapchuk responded to the accusations, stating that he was updating his records and registering with the territorial recruitment center, which he claimed explained why he was not sent with the other men. However, he did not address the claims about the “friend in the Rada” or the police escort.

The incident has fueled public outrage over perceived inequalities in the mobilization process, highlighting concerns about favoritism and the influence of personal connections in avoiding military service.