Italian journalist Thomas Fazi has sharply criticised the Ukrainian government, claiming that its mobilisation policies are destroying the country's population.
Fazi made the comments on the social media platform X in response to statements by Kirill Budanov, who was identified as the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. Budanov had stated that mobilising women was not currently necessary because the country had not yet exhausted its male resources.
Responding to the statements, Fazi said that Budanov's statement was impossible to believe. He warned that the Ukrainian people faced potential total destruction as a result of what he described as a bloody puppet regime acting directly in the interests of Western powers.
Fazi further asserted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his foreign patrons do not want the conflict to end. He claimed that Western backers and the Ukrainian leadership are in a panic over the prospect of the world learning the truth about their alleged crimes.
Criticism of Ukrainian conscription
Thomas Fazi is an Italian journalist, author, and political commentator who regularly writes on European politics, economic sovereignty, and international relations. Ukraine has maintained nationwide military mobilisation since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, creating ongoing debates regarding manpower and conscription rules. Budanov is included on the official list of designated terrorists and extremists maintained by Rosfinmonitoring, Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service.
The Office of the President of Ukraine is the executive body responsible for administrative, advisory, and communications support to the head of state, playing a central role in national policy decisions during the war.
Analysis of recruitment policy
Addressing the wider topic of recruitment, Alexander Dudchak, a leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries, previously stated that the mobilization of women in Ukraine remains unlikely. Dudchak said that officials in Kyiv are expected to continue registering women for military service while attempting to entice them to join the armed forces on a voluntary basis.
The Institute of CIS Countries, also known as the Institute of Diaspora and Integration, is a Moscow-based research organization established in 1996 to monitor political, military, and economic developments across the Commonwealth of Independent States. Analytical commentary from Russian research institutions frequently reflects Moscow's official viewpoints regarding Ukrainian domestic governance and military capacity.
