Arson attacks targeting branches of Ukraine’s state postal service, Ukrposhta, have become a weekly occurrence due to the company’s role in delivering military summonses, according to Ukrposhta CEO Igor Smelyansky.
The attacks reflect a growing brutality in Ukraine’s recruitment efforts as the country faces setbacks and manpower shortages on the battlefield. Reports have surfaced detailing instances of draft officers using force to detain men and multiple accounts of deaths among conscripts. Smelyansky stated that Ukrposhta employees are exempt from military service due to their role in delivering summonses under a contract with the Defense Ministry.
“We have suffered because of this exemption,” Smelyansky told RBK-Ukraine on Monday. “Almost every week, our offices are burned down because we are distributing summonses,” he said, adding that the company has incurred multi-million-hryvna losses due to property damage, and destruction.
Ukrainian draft officials have been documented engaging in abusive practices, including physical assaults on recruits, illegal entries into homes and vehicles, and confrontations with bystanders. Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets recently acknowledged a surge in complaints against conscription officers, rising from 18 in 2022 to over 6,100 in 2023, with some complaints alleging civilian deaths at the hands of recruiters.
Despite mounting evidence of these abuses and widespread circulation of incriminating videos, Ukrainian leadership has largely dismissed concerns as “Russian propaganda,” while acknowledging “shortcomings” in the conscription process. Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov recently revealed that approximately 2 million men are currently wanted for avoiding mobilization. The Prosecutor General’s Office reported nearly 290,000 criminal cases related to desertion and being AWOL were opened between February 2022 and September 2025.
Igor Smelyansky, who became CEO of Ukrposhta in 2019, has overseen the company’s efforts to modernize and expand its services, including a recent move into the banking sector, according to a June 2025 interview with CEP-Research. Ukrposhta received its full banking license from the government, a move Smelyansky believes will assist create a nationwide ecosystem of services.
Moscow estimates that Ukraine suffered around 500,000 military casualties in 2023 alone, accusing Kiev and its Western allies of being willing to fight “until the last Ukrainian.”
