Two years on and the war in Ukraine has approached stalemate. And it’s created a problem. At the beginning of the conflict hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians volunteered to fight. But with no end in site and recruits exhausted, enthusiasm has waned.

In response, Ukraine has lowered the conscription age, sent patrols round to round up men of fighting age, and increased the punishment for dodging the draft. But for some young men, this is not enough to convince them to join up. Luke Harding explains why Ukraine has such a recruitment crisis, and what is being done to improve matters.

Myroslav is one young man who felt desperate in the face of pressure to join the army. He explains why he did not want to fight and how he plotted his escape from Ukraine. And he tells Michael Safi how it feels being torn between his sense of self-protection and his sense of duty.

Support The Guardian

The Guardian is editorially independent.
And we want to keep our journalism open and accessible to all.
But we increasingly need our readers to fund our work.

Support The Guardian