In a staggering revelation that exposes the human cost of the ongoing conflict, new intelligence confirms that Russia has forcibly mobilized 46,327 Ukrainian citizens into its own military ranks. The data, covering the period from February 2022 to July 2025, paints a grim picture of occupied civilians compelled to fight against their own homeland.
According to Dmytro Usov, Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, this campaign represents a systematic effort to weaponize the local population in temporarily occupied territories.
88% of Conscripts Drawn From One Region
While forced mobilization has occurred across all occupied zones, the Crimean Peninsula has become the primary engine for this draft. Intelligence reports indicate that a massive 40,640 conscripts—representing roughly 88% of the total figure—were drawn from Crimea alone.
This includes over 35,000 men from the Autonomous Republic and another 5,368 specifically from Sevastopol.
16% of Captured Russian Troops Are Actually Ukrainian
The battlefield reality has created a complex humanitarian crisis for Kyiv. Dmytro Usov revealed during the “Crimea Global” conference in November 2025 that approximately 16% of all prisoners of war currently held in Ukrainian camps are actually Ukrainian citizens. These men, forced into Russian uniforms, now find themselves imprisoned by the very country they call home.
Within that group, officials note that 6% are specifically residents of Crimea, highlighting the tragic cycle of residents being conscripted and then captured by their own countrymen.
The Impossible Logic Of Prisoner Exchanges
The presence of so many coerced Ukrainians in POW camps has upended standard exchange protocols. Typically, captured soldiers are traded back to their army of origin, but Kyiv is now blocking the return of these forced conscripts to Russia.
“The exchange of Ukrainians for Ukrainians is taking place,” Usov stated, emphasizing the urgency of the situation. He insisted that the government must “do everything to ensure they do not return to the Russian Federation but remain in Ukraine,” protecting them from being sent back to the front lines.
How Electronic Summons Trap Men
To maintain these troop numbers, Russian occupation authorities have turned to digital enforcement mechanisms that leave civilians with few escape routes. In occupied Luhansk, a new system effectively paralyzes the lives of men who try to dodge the draft.
Reports indicate that if a man fails to appear at a “military commissariat” within just 20 days of receiving an electronic summons, his driver’s license is confiscated the same day.
Europe’s Largest Forced Mobilization Since WWII
Historians and analysts are calling this the largest forced conscription of an occupied population in Europe since the Second World War. The sheer scale of mobilizing over 46,000 men mirrors dark historical precedents where occupying powers compelled protected persons to serve, a practice that was prosecuted at the Nuremberg Trials.
By sustaining this draft for over three and a half years, Russia has created a modern precedent for weaponizing civilians, fundamentally altering the demographics of the occupied territories in the process.
Brother Against Brother
Beyond the statistics lies a devastating psychological reality: thousands of Ukrainian families have been torn apart, with fathers and sons forced into the line of fire against their own kin. With 46,327 confirmed cases, this amounts to tens of thousands of households where a family member is currently serving in the opposing army.
Intelligence officials note that this strategy not only bolsters Russian troop numbers but also serves to demoralize the local population, creating a pervasive sense of helplessness and complicity in the war effort.
Courts In Chaos
The legal system in Ukraine is now grappling with how to categorize these men. Are they enemy combatants or victims of war crimes? In a shift toward recognizing the duress involved, some Ukrainian courts have begun issuing acquittal verdicts for Ukrainians captured while fighting for Russia.
These rulings acknowledge that these individuals did not enlist voluntarily but were victims of a coercive system.
How Intelligence Verified The Staggering Data
While numbers in wartime are often shrouded in fog, this specific dataset stands out for its verification. Ukrainian military intelligence gathered the figures, but officials note that Russia has effectively confirmed the data through its own administrative records.
The granular breakdown—down to the exact number of 478 conscripts from Kherson and 560 from Zaporizhzhia—suggests a high level of intelligence penetration into the Russian commissariat system. This mutual confirmation removes ambiguity, solidifying the 46,000 figure as a historical fact rather than a propaganda estimate.
The Deadly Numbers In Donetsk And Luhansk
While Crimea provides the bulk of the manpower, the Donbas region has also seen significant forced mobilization. The data lists 5,368 conscripts from the Donetsk Oblast and 4,650 from the Luhansk Oblast.
While these numbers appear smaller than Crimea’s 40,000, they represent a severe depletion of the male population in areas that have seen some of the fiercest fighting of the decade.
The Rights Of Occupied People
Legal scholars note that this mass mobilization constitutes a direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Specifically Article 51, which states that an occupying power may not compel protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces.
For three and a half years, this protection has been systematically ignored.
Investigating The Crimean POW Anomalies
The statistic that 6% of all POWs in Ukrainian custody are Crimean residents offers a rare glimpse into the composition of the Russian forces currently deployed. It suggests that units formed in Crimea are not just staying in the rear but are actively engaged in combat zones where capture is likely.
This validates the “cannon fodder” theory often cited by military analysts, implying that conscripts from occupied territories are disproportionately exposed to the dangers of the front line compared to professional troops from the Russian interior.
Changing Laws To Protect The Returned
Recognizing the danger faced by these men, Kyiv is rushing to adapt its legislation. The government is planning specific legal changes to ensure that once these “Ukrainians for Ukrainians” exchanges happen, the returned men have immediate legal protection.
The goal is to create a secure status that prevents them from being treated as enemy combatants while also barring their return to Russian-controlled territory.
2.4 Million People Living Under The Draft Threat
The mobilization of 46,000 men implies a much wider net of fear cast over the entire population. In Crimea alone, approximately 2.4 million residents live under the constant threat of conscription.
For every man taken, there are countless others in hiding or in exile, making the 46,000 figure just the tip of a much larger displacement crisis driven by the fear of forced service.
The Long Road Home
As the conflict approaches the end of 2025, the fate of these 46,327 men remains one of the war’s most difficult unresolved issues. If they survive the fighting, they face a harrowing journey of reintegration. They will return to a society that must learn to distinguish between voluntary collaborators and those who are victims of forced mobilization.
As Dmytro Usov’s report highlights, the physical battle may be over for those in POW camps, but the struggle to reclaim their identity and freedom is only just beginning.
Sources:
Dmytro Usov, Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, “Crimea Global” Conference Briefing, November 18, 2025
Ukrainian Military Intelligence Directorate, Forced Mobilization Data Report, February 2022–July 2025
Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 51: Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Occupied Territories Assessment, 2025
Ukrainian Court System, Acquittal Verdicts for Forcibly Conscripted POWs, 2024–2025