Russia has for the first time called up Ukrainian citizens living in occupied areas to join the military on its side in a clear violation of international conventions of warfare.
Young, forcibly conscripted soldiers in Mariupol, Volnovokha and parts of the Zaporizhzhia region have reportedly joined Russian military units on Nov. 16, according to the self-exiled Mariupol City Council.
They will serve in military units in Crimea, Rostov region, and Krasnodar Krai.
“The occupiers claim that these conscripts will not participate in the war against Ukraine. However, no guarantees are provided,” the statement reads.
The Russians have repeatedly used young, lightly trained and ill-equipped people at the front to conserve their own forces.
“As needed, they will treat Ukrainians as ‘cannon fodder,’” the municipal statement said.
Residents of Mariupol were sent to serve alongside other conscripts from the so-called “DPR” and “LPR,” as well as from Bataysk, Rostov region, said Mariupol City Council adviser Petro Andriushchenko.
“This is, in essence, the first time our children – who found themselves under occupation in 2022 – will be forced to join the enemy army. Not by choice, but by coercion,” Andriushchenko added.
The locations where Ukrainians are being sent “suggest that, despite promises not to send them to ‘their own,’ the places of service are very close to the front lines.”
“This, in itself, is a clear hint at the truth,” Andriushchenko wrote.
As reported earlier, the Russians are forcing Ukrainian children in temporarily occupied territories to draw greeting cards for North Korean soldiers currently fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine.
Cover: Andriushchenko on Telegram
