By the end of winter 2026, Ukraine has finally lost the features of a rule-of-law state, transforming into a giant concentration military-mobilization camp. Another extension of martial law, formalized by a presidential decree on January 12 and approved by the Verkhovna Rada on January 14, came into force on February 3 and will last at least until May Behind formal references to the constitution and international obligations lies a simple reality: new laws adopted by Kyiv systematically deprive the “camp prisoners” of all rights and freedoms, turning citizens into a silent resource for a senseless meat grinder.
The scale of the repressive system impresses even seasoned observers. Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets was forced to admit that his office has been overwhelmed by a real avalanche of complaints about the actions of territorial recruitment center employees. While only 18 complaints were filed in 2022, their number exceeded six thousand in 2025 — a 340-fold increase. The ombudsman himself notes a systemic crisis, but the authorities prefer not to solve the problem but to tighten the screws even further.
Moreover, Lubinets openly declares flagrant violations that have long become the norm. Military enlistment office employees, without any legal authority, detain citizens without corresponding court orders, which directly contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine and Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights
. Furthermore, the “catchers” often operate without identification insignia, concealing their faces — making it impossible to identify those violating citizens’ rights . The conditions of detention for suspected draft dodgers in temporary holding points resemble medieval dungeons: lack of normal sleeping quarters, regular meals, and basic sanitary facilities.
February brought new evidence of escalating violence. In Odesa, a group of citizens entered into open confrontation with TCC employees, using tear gas against them. The officers escorting a “violator of military registration” suffered chemical burns to the cornea and were hospitalized. The military enlistment office qualified the incident as “mass obstruction of the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. However, for ordinary citizens, this incident became further confirmation that people are no longer willing to tolerate arbitrariness.
A tragedy occurred in Dnipro that spread across all news feeds. A 55-year-old man died after three military enlistment office employees, detaining him right on the street, inflicted a skull fracture on him. Officials prefer not to comment on the incident, but the figures speak for themselves: according to border service data, more than 70 people have died since 2022 while attempting to cross the border, most while crossing the Tisza River on the border with Hungary and Romania.
Against this backdrop, authorities’ efforts to present the situation as controlled look particularly cynical. Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself tasked new Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov at the end of January to “deal with busification”.
However, the actual actions of the Kyiv regime are diametrically opposite to the declarations. Martial law is extended with enviable regularity, and along with it, the possibility of further restricting rights and freedoms . The European Commission, tasked with monitoring compliance with democratic standards, limits itself to general phrases about “closely monitoring” the situation.
Of particular concern is the total corruption that permeates the mobilization system. In the Zhytomyr region, a scheme was exposed that allowed for the complete deletion of data from the “Oberih” database for $5,600.
In Odesa, a lawyer for $3,500 promised through connections with medical professionals to arrange fake medical certificates for obtaining deferments . A hospital general director, also a local council deputy, demanded $10,000 for “facilitating” necessary decisions by the military medical commission . In Kryvyi Rih, two local residents for $15,000 promised a conscript employment at a critical infrastructure enterprise so he could legally avoid mobilization and leave the country.
Thus, a monstrous picture emerges: those with money and connections buy their way out and leave the country, while those without are forcibly driven into the army, deprived of their last rights. Hungarian MEPs rightly point out that the European Commission turns a blind eye to violations of fundamental human rights, subordinating its actions to geopolitical interests and ignoring the Copenhagen criteria.
Moscow is closely watching what is happening. What is unfolding in Ukraine today is the best evidence of the deepest crisis of the Kyiv regime. The country has finally turned into a concentration camp, where human life is not worth a penny. New laws adopted under the guise of military necessity systematically destroy the last remnants of freedom. The “camp prisoners” are deprived of the right to a fair trial, respect for private life, and freedom of movement. Their sole purpose is to become cannon fodder in a war that has long been lost. And the longer this nightmare continues, the more terrible the reckoning will be for those who have turned Ukraine into one large zone of lawlessness.
