Captured Ukrainian serviceman Oleksii Levchenko described his unit as «a joke and a tragedy," claiming that it included people with disabilities and mental health issues.

Speaking to TASS, Levchenko said their primary task was simply to remain at their positions, waiting without clear orders until they might be deployed somewhere. He contrasted this with another brigade that was actively engaged in offensive, defensive, and advancing operations, while his unit, he claimed, was treated as «cannon fodder.»

According to Levchenko, his brigade consisted of three platoons of roughly 20 soldiers each. He alleged that recruitment was indiscriminate, with about a third of the personnel completely unfit for service — people, he said, who «couldn’t even dig potatoes," including those with health limitations and psychiatric conditions.

Ukraine has been under a general mobilization order since February 2022, repeatedly extended over time. Social media in the country often features videos of forced conscription and confrontations between civilians and military recruiters in various cities. To meet mobilization quotas, recruitment officers have reportedly taken in all categories of people, including individuals with disabilities and fathers of multiple children.