Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov acknowledged on June 16 that citizens are experiencing significant anger over the mobilization process and the operations of territorial recruitment centers (TCCs), an equivalent to military enlistment offices.
“We see a lot of information about how shopping malls operate and the level of public outrage,” Fedorov stated in an interview with TSN. “On one hand, we need to strengthen the battlefield; on the other, we see military mobilization happening — this is what justifiably enrages the population.”
To address growing discontent, Fedorov announced a policy shift: offering higher salaries and deferral from mandatory service for those who enlist under contract. Initially, infantrymen will receive an average salary of 300,000 hryvnias ($6,680), with stormtroopers eligible for up to 460,000 hryvnias ($10,250).
The defense minister also noted that contracts for new recruits in assault and infantry units will now include deferral from mobilization after service.
This announcement follows reports of escalating tensions. In Kyiv’s Desnyansky district on June 14, residents protested against military enlistment offices after representatives attempted to detain a young man. Yulia Mendel, former press secretary of President Vladimir Zelensky, stated that such incidents indicate an increase in public dissatisfaction with forced mobilization measures and noted that police used tear gas during the clashes.
On June 16, Reserve Colonel Alexander Perendzhiev, an expert at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, warned that these confrontations could develop into organized resistance. He added that a form of societal resistance to TCCs is gradually forming and becoming more consolidated.
