Andriy Huk, an attorney in Kyiv, received a phone call at 11:15 p.m. March 1 instructing him to come to a recruiting office in the city’s Obolon district the next morning in preparation for national mobilization of the military to ocunter Russia's invasion of Crimea.
“I have no experience in the army. But if there is mobilization, I will go and fight. People will be ready.”
On March 2, the Ukrainian National Security and Defesne Council put the country’s armed forces on high alert in response to
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s takeover of Crimea, which began on Feb. 27, ostensibly to ensure the safety of ethnic Russian minorities on the peninsula of 2.2 million people, most of whom are Russians.
“Ukraine’s troops are on the highest alert,”
Ukraine’s acting Defense Minister Ihor Teniukh said during a briefing late on March 1.
Men from throughout Ukraine were called to
military recruitment centers to prepare for the mobilization, bringing them two steps from war — first, mobilization, secondly, deployment.
They were given
assignments and told to prepare for deployment, should the Ukrainian government
decide to confront the Russian troops that have invaded Ukraine’s Autonomous
Republic of Crimea. Men between the age of 18 and 40 have been called into
service, and men up to age 55 will be eligible to receive commissions as
officers.
On March 2, men from Kyiv flooded the city’s
10 district recruitment centers, eagerly waiting in line to receive their
orders. Many, like Andriy, were called late at night and instructed to appear
the next day.
Others however, volunteered to enlist. A
representative from the recruitment office in Kyiv’s Pechersk district said
that more than 500 men enlisted at his office on March 2. Over half were
volunteers.
The majority of men were excited about the
opportunity to serve their country. As he shuffled out the door after signing
up, one man exclaimed, “We are ready to fight! We want to fight!”
Others, however, are worried about what a
violent confrontation with Russian troops might mean. “Scary, scary, scary. We don’t know why he
was chosen,” said the mother of one potential soldier “We can only hope for the best.”
It is unclear how the enlisted men will be
deployed. Some who signed up in the
Pechersk district office were told that they would be working in the
understaffed recruitment office rather than sent to fight.
Many men were clearly older
than 40, while others, accompanied by their parents, looked like they were
barely out of high school. Some had
considerable military experience: many of the older men had served in the
Soviet army. Others, like Andriy, were prepared to serve for the first time.
The enlisted men will join Ukraine’s
standing military of 130,000.
The Ukrainian government has denounced the
Russian incursion into Ukrainian territory, calling on Putin to respect the
country’s sovereignty. Ukrainian Prime Minister warned that the situation might
soon escalate uncontrollably, saying that the country was “on the brink of
disaster.”
Putin, however, has shown little sign of
backing down.
On March 2, Russian forces surrounded
Ukrainian military bases in Crimea, demanding that Ukrainian soldiers give up
their weapons and surrender. Ukraine’s acting President Oleksandr Turchynov
said that Russia’s attack was intended “to completely stop Ukraine’s economy.”
Although Ukraine has begun to mobilize its
troops, it is unclear whether the newly formed government is prepared to
fight a war against a superior military power.
