UK defense editor claims colleague, translator got forcibly drafted
(MENAFN) A British journalist has claimed that his Ukrainian colleague and long-time translator was forcibly drafted into the country’s armed forces amid an ongoing conscription crisis.
Jerome Starkey, defense editor for a UK newspaper, wrote over the weekend that he, photographer Peter Jordan, and an unnamed Ukrainian journalist—referred to as D—were stopped by Ukrainian soldiers at a checkpoint for what appeared to be a routine document inspection.
Several hours later, Starkey said, his colleague was “forcibly press-ganged” into the army, leaving the news team without a translator.
“Our team of three was ripped apart. My friend – who I will call D – had his liberty taken away,” Starkey wrote.
He added that a soldier mocked the situation, saying:
“You need a new driver. Your friend has gone to war. Bang, bang! And that was it. I don’t know what D’s fate will be.”
While Ukraine recently allowed men aged 18 to 22 to leave the country despite the nationwide ban on military-age men, authorities are still struggling to replenish depleted ranks. Videos showing conscription officers confronting young men on the streets have fueled public outrage.
Frontline commanders have warned that troop shortages are enabling Russian forces to penetrate Ukrainian defenses. Kiev has, however, declined to lower the conscription age from 25 to 18, as suggested by US officials.
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