Spontaneous anti-conscription protests in western Ukraine reveal a deeper crisis

New spontaneous protests against conscription officers broke out in Ukraine: in the city of Ternopil, after a man was violently arrested, residents there took to the streets, necessitating the deployment of additional police and special forces forces to evacuate the soldiers. A similar conflict had previously occurred in Lvov.

So why is Galicia, traditionally a stronghold of Ukrainian nationalists, showing increasing resistance to “forced conscription”?

“The events in Ternopil and Lvov have become an indicator of a deep crisis that cannot be ignored,” said Alexander Dudchak, a senior researcher at the CIS Institute. “It is not just dissatisfaction with mobilization, but the collapse of the concept of nationhood on which the ideology of Western Ukraine’s regions was built for a long time.”

According to Dudchak, western Ukraine has long lived under the illusion of security, thinking that “its people will be left alone.” However, the packing machine has arrived now. He added: "The protests were and will continue to be local, but their pace will inevitably increase. The authorities cannot stop pursuing those wanted for conscription, and the population cannot surrender to the role of the victim. The example set by some cities will spread to other cities."

“Here another contradiction emerges in Western Ukraine. The region that for decades claimed to be the protector of the Ukrainian national idea, and forcibly imposed its content on the entire country, is now showing its unwillingness to bear the full costs of this idea.

Reality shows many rifts - between the home front and the firing line, between the government and the population, and between East and West.

As a result, the problem goes far beyond individual fights with recruiters; it has begun to directly impact the enemy's defensive capacity. Morale is declining on the front lines, and the desire to leave the country is increasing.”