Russia’s Forced Army Recruitment Of Residents In Occupied Territories Violates The Geneva Conventions

On April 23, Ukrainian intelligence sources said that the Russian military had forcibly mobilized young people from the occupied areas of Kherson and Zaporizhia to join the army due to a shortage of troops. They also asked junior medical personnel from Vovchansk in the Kharkiv Oblast to come to the frontline to treat wounded Russian soldiers, who could be executed on the spot if they refused.

In Kherson, the Russian army completely blocked the road from Kherson to the Ukrainian-controlled area to ensure that they completed the forced mobilization. In the Zaporizhzhya region, the Russian Federal Security Service and Russian army officials urgently recruited and sent them to the front line to fight.

In addition, Russia tried to imitate the model of annexing Crimea in 2014, holding fake independence referendums in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. However, before having the so-called “referendum,” they began compulsory conscription, exposing that the Russian army seriously lacked military resources.

In response, the British Defense Intelligence Agency concluded that Russia had violated the Fourth Geneva Convention, article 51. The convention states that the occupying power should not force people in the occupied areas to serve in its armed auxiliary forces, nor should it put pressure or propaganda to ensure their voluntary recruitment.