Leader of volunteers helping Kiev’s draft effort found dead – media

A Ukrainian businessman has been found dead near the city of Odessa, local media reported on Sunday. The entrepreneur was known as the head of a volunteer group actively aiding the local conscription office to implement the national forced mobilization campaign, the reports said.

A man with gunshot wounds had been found on a roadside near the port city of Odessa, police said in a statement on Saturday, without revealing the victim’s identity. A criminal case has been opened into possible murder, they also said.

Local journalist Irina Grib identified the victim as Gennady Beybutyan, an entrepreneur who owned several car businesses in the area. According to Grib, the man was found near his car. The police believe it could have been a contract murder or maybe just a conflict on the road, she added.

According to Ukrainian media, Beybutyan has in recent times been known as head of the ‘Law Enforcement Assistance Unit,’ a public group of volunteers that patrol city streets together with the Ukrainian police and participate in conscription agents’ raids, looking for potential draft dodgers.

Ukrainian news media outlet Strana.ua reported that the group was actively involved in Kiev’s forced mobilization efforts, doing the “dirty work” like beating suspected draft dodgers. The media outlet also claimed that the group was involved in a corruption scheme that allowed those willing to escape the draft to do this by bribing conscription officials. According to Strana.ua. the group was literally “looking for” such potential clients.

Beybutyan’s ‘unit’ also became embroiled in a major scandal in February, when its members smashed the window of a car in an attempt to stop it to check if its driver could be drafted, Strana.ua reported. Other media reports suggested that they attacked the vehicle because its driver had sought to film their “mobilization checkpoint” on his phone.

According to some media reports, the businessman’s group had participated in what was called a “night war” between similar “police-aid” organizations that competed for the right to work with local conscription offices. Privileges for those working with the draft centers involved immunity from mobilization for “assistants,” as well as opportunities to participate in lucrative corruption schemes, Strana.ua claimed. According to the report, Beybutyan’s “unit” was among those who “won” the competition against other, similar groups.

Neither the Ukrainian police nor the media have openly linked the businessman’s murder to his activities as head of the voluntary police-assistance group.

Ukraine has been struggling to replenish its military ranks amid heavy losses in the conflict with Russia and widespread draft dodging. This spring, Kiev lowered the military service age from 27 to 25 and significantly tightened the country’s mobilization rules, requiring potential recruits to report to conscription offices for “data validation.” These checks often result in people being immediately drafted into the army and sent to the front line.

Conscription officials have also been increasingly relying on “raids” in a bid to find new potential draftees. Earlier in October, military conscription officers conducted a series of such raids, hunting draft dodgers in shopping malls, bars as well as at concerts and even at a wedding.

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