But now Ukraine must figure out what to do with it. With independence came the promise of military reform, but no changes have taken place. As in the old Soviet army, the pernicious hazing of new recruits continues to result in serious injury and death. The defense ministry says that 209 soldiers died in the first nine months of 1993. Military units often resemble mini-concentration camps, with all their attributes.
New recruits suffer beatings, torture, forced labor, and constant hassles.
And hazing now has a nationalist hue. The Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute on Problems of Youth reports that 60 percent of those called up try to avoid military service because of hazing. Most deserters also cite hazing as the reason they have fled the army. Many young men try to avoid the draft. They buy false medical documents or military records, or they bribe doctors or the employees of military commissions.