Status: 01/25/2022 11:30 a.m
In Ukraine, all men under the age of 27 are conscripted, only a few are allowed to do alternative service. While some evade conscription by tricks, pacifists struggle with their attitude.
Vitaly is sitting in a café in Kiev with a cup of tea. The brown-haired man in the light gray turtleneck sweater is a big exception: he refused military service and did alternative service in a hospital. “I’m a Christian and because of my views I’m for peace. And serving in the army means guns and something evil,” he says. “On the one hand you defend the population, but the methods are not peaceful. And I thought to myself, I can serve society and do alternative service.”
In Ukraine, all men between the ages of 18 and 27 are conscripted and have no right to refuse. But Vitaly is with the Seventh-day Adventists – one of ten small religious organizations in the country whose members can do alternative service. This does not apply to Catholics or Orthodox Christians of the Kiev or Moscow Patriarchate.
In 2020, around 1,500 young men applied to the responsible state commissions for community service for religious reasons. Inside sit doctors, officers and civil servants. Formal mistakes or a lack of proof of religious conviction can be reasons for a refusal – and again and again young men have to join the army against their declared will, says Yuri Scheljaschenko from the Ukrainian pacifist society in Kiev.
Vitaly did alternative service in a hospital.
Image: ARD Studio Moscow
Deal with bribery the service
Because young men cannot conscientiously object to military service, many would pay bribes. “The amount of bribes can range from 500 to several thousand dollars,” says Zhelyaschenko. “Since there are bureaucratic problems in accessing alternative civilian services, bribes are also being demanded from officials from local organizations responsible for the alternative service.”
In the Khmelnitsky region, a regional administration official was arrested for demanding a $1,000 bribe, a box of chocolates and a packet of coffee in order to apply for alternative service.
War in Donbass
Long brown hair, glasses, a dark jacket, no hat despite the cold winter wind – this is how the lawyer stands in front of the many meters long memorial wall at Michael’s Monastery in the center of Kiev. The photos show soldiers killed in Donbass. Some are wearing the uniform of the Ukrainian army with a serious expression. Others are in civilian clothes with a smile on their face.
“It is a great pity that people were involved in a senseless war, in a bloodshed that could have been avoided if our country, Russia and indeed the whole world had the greatest good – peace,” he says Chelyashenko.
Notification of appointment not delivered
“Go to the trenches or to Moscow” – the committed lawyer hears such reactions to his attitude again and again. “A lot of people are under the influence of propaganda or very indoctrinated,” he says. “And then I answer: There are pacifists in Moscow who are against war. There are pacifists all over the world. It’s a global civil society.”
Yuri Chelyashenko on the memorial wall in Kiev. The lawyer is involved with the pacifist society and demands a right to conscientious objection to military service.
Image: ARD Studio Moscow
Because they cannot object on grounds of conscience, young men in Ukraine are looking for other ways. Many evade their conscription – like a family man from the Kiev region who does not want to be recognized. “I have my reasons. I have a young family and I had to earn money. And it was clear to me that I couldn’t do that at the time,” he says. “And besides, it would have been a waste of time for me. I was also worried that my health might deteriorate and there is no compensation for that.”
When he was 18, he reported to the responsible military commissariat for an examination. He was deferred during his studies. But then more conscription letters came to his official registration address. He simply did not accept them – because in Ukraine a draft notice can only be delivered personally to the conscript.
The father of the family is not embarrassed that he avoided this, as he says: “In my circle of acquaintances you don’t have to hide such information. If you do military service, that’s okay and you know that you’re serving. If you don’t feel like it , then this will also be accepted and you will not be mocked for it. It is quite normal.”
Advocating for the right to refuse
Even men who don’t want to fight have not been left untouched by the years of conflict with Russia. The 29-year-old does not rule out that he would fight under certain circumstances. In principle, however, he advocates a professional army.
At the very least, everyone should have the same opportunity as he does: Vitali also agrees that refusing military service is a good idea. “I think it would be a good idea if all young people were given the right to vote. They have no other way out today and are looking for opportunities: they flee abroad or try to avoid military service with medical certificates,” he says . “If an alternative service were implemented, that would be fair.”
right to conscientious objection
The OSCE Human Rights Committee and the UN Human Rights Council expressly recognize the right to conscientious objection. And Chelyashenko continues to support this – not just out of selfishness, as he says: “It’s not enough just to save your own skin, not to join the army and not die in the war. We still have to look after the common good care, we need to think about how to resolve this conflict.”
Rather, negotiations are needed for a peace based on “justice and non-violence”: “If there are no voices for peace, the hope for a just peace will disappear.”