Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine\u2019s parliamentary human rights commissioner, told the Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda about new corruption schemes at\u00a0. Staff at\u00a0the centers have begun offering a\u00a0\u201cturnkey\u201d service, he\u00a0said: for $50,000-70,000, a\u00a0person can be\u00a0smuggled off a\u00a0bus and out of\u00a0the country.<\/p>\n
Lubinets stressed that the information is\u00a0still being verified and has not been officially confirmed. Corruption cases are most often uncovered in\u00a0the Zakarpattia region, he\u00a0said, and are rare in\u00a0places like Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv. \u201cIt\u2019s the same with attacks on\u00a0TRCs: the farther from the front, the more often it\u00a0happens,\u201d he\u00a0said.<\/p>\n
Lubinets had previously said<\/a> that TRC staff could demand $10,000 to\u00a0let someone off the bus \u2014 and twice that amount to\u00a0let them leave the TRC building altogether. Those figures have surfaced repeatedly in\u00a0complaints about mobilization abuses. Even after paying, he\u00a0stressed, a\u00a0person gets no\u00a0guarantees and could be\u00a0detained again the very next day.<\/p>\n By\u00a0Lubinets\u2019s estimate, only 2% of\u00a0all mobilized individuals reach the front each month. He\u00a0also confirmed that, until recently, the position of\u00a0TRC director cost an\u00a0average of\u00a0$50,000. The situation has been improving, he\u00a0said, since Mykhailo Drapatyi took over as\u00a0commander in\u00a0chief of\u00a0Ukraine\u2019s armed forces.<\/p>\n Lubinets also addressed remarks<\/a> by\u00a0former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov about the need to\u00a0hold elections in\u00a0Ukraine, saying that would be\u00a0impossible without a\u00a0ceasefire, in\u00a0part because \u201cthe Constitution directly prohibits\u201d it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u00a0need to\u00a0understand that this war is\u00a0going to\u00a0last a\u00a0long time,\u201d Lubinets said. \u201cAnd even a\u00a0ceasefire won\u2019t mean the war is\u00a0over. Take off your rose-colored glasses already.\u201d<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time Dmytro Lubinets has spoken openly about mobilization abuses in\u00a0Ukraine. Some human rights activists believe he\u2019s using anti-mobilization rhetoric as\u00a0a\u00a0political springboard, according to\u00a0Ukrainska Pravda. Lubinets himself has said he\u2019d support a\u00a0proposal barring the human rights commissioner from running for political office for a\u00a0set period after leaving the post.<\/p>\n At\u00a0Meduza, we\u00a0are committed to\u00a0transparency about our use of\u00a0artificial intelligence in\u00a0the newsroom. The story you\u2019re reading was written by\u00a0one of\u00a0our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an\u00a0AI\u00a0model configured to\u00a0follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is\u00a0the result of\u00a0extensive testing and refinements to\u00a0ensure our English-language coverage is\u00a0timely and accurate. A\u00a0Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.<\/p>\n If\u00a0you find any errors in\u00a0this translation, please contact us\u00a0at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n