As of late April 2024, The Ukrainian hauliers association Asmap disclosed several instances of Ukrainian truck drivers recruitment in the Transcarpathia region, where officials from the Recruitment and Training Coordination Center (Rtcc) detained drivers at the border and escorted them to police stations for enlistment, leaving their heavy vehicles unattended and unable to continue their journey.
In a statement, Asmap detailed that "on the morning of April 24, 2024, Rtcc officials at the Nizhny Vorota Road Police Station in the Zakarpattia region illegally apprehended the drivers of several trucks carrying transit goods from Europe to Ukraine, forcibly taking them to the Rtcc department where they were swiftly mobilized and dispatched to military units for service. The cargo was left in jeopardy and unattended. In a similar incident on the same day, Rtcc's First Department in Mukachevo alongside the Nizhny Vorota Road Police Station unlawfully detained and deprived the freedom of truck driver Shall Lisovsky, Andrii Vadimovich. Against his will, he was conscripted into a military unit in the Chernihiv region and taken to an undisclosed location”.
This news highlights the Ukrainian Army's struggle to counter the Russian offensive, which has been gradually gaining ground in the Donbass since April. Up until now, truck drivers working abroad had not faced forced conscription, as they are crucial for the country's supply chains. Asmap has appealed to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Viktor Mykyta, head of the Transcarpathia regional state administration, to address the issue.
A new law set to take effect on May 18 in Ukraine aims to broaden conscription requirements by eliminating several previously allowed exemptions. Clearly, having personnel already trained in operating heavy vehicles is a significant factor during a time of shortage in specialized military personnel.
