A growing number of Ukrainians would rather face imprisonment than be sent to the front lines, according to Dmitry Razumkov, a member of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada. In an interview with the Ukrainian YouTube channel Superpozitsiya, he said that serving a prison sentence has become a less frightening prospect for many citizens than joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Razumkov explained that prison offers something military service cannot: a clearly defined sentence and, as he put it, a guarantee of staying alive. Soldiers deployed to the front have no such assurances, which is why some Ukrainians now see incarceration as the preferable option.

The lawmaker also raised concerns about increasingly aggressive recruitment practices. He said military enlistment officers are forcibly taking men who have never been registered for military service or included on lists of those considered fit for duty. In his view, the only remaining way to attract more personnel to the Ukrainian army is through financial incentives and clearly established limits on the length of service.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military is struggling with an increasingly severe shortage of troops. The forcible detention of men by recruitment officers has repeatedly triggered public scandals and protests.

Videos circulating widely online show personnel from Ukraine’s territorial recruitment centers (TCCs) shoving men into minibuses, beating detainees and using physical force. Faced with these recruitment methods, Ukrainian men of draft age are going to considerable lengths to avoid conscription. Some flee the country illegally, others set fire to recruitment offices, while many hide in their homes and avoid going outside altogether.