By Galina Korol | 2025-07-16

A Ukrainian military recruitment office now sits in ruins. The shattered windows once framed the faces of new conscripts. Now, they mark a new front in Russia's war.

After more than two years of missile strikes on power grids and grain ports, Russia appears to be turning its attention to Ukraine's ability to fight back. Since late June, Moscow has launched at least five attacks on territorial centers for recruitment and social support (TCRSS) across multiple Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine reported strikes on June 30 in Kryvyi Rih, July 3 in Poltava, July 6 in Kremenchuk and July 7 in both Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia provinces. The Kharkiv strike injured four service members, while the attack near Zaporizhzhia wounded 11.

The Russian Defense Ministry publicly acknowledged the July 7 strikes, a rare and pointed confirmation of intent. It called them "the defeat of the TCRSS facilities of the AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine]," according to a report by the BBC Russian-language service.

"The enemy is very afraid of the influx of military personnel into our army," Vitalii Sarantsev, a Ukrainian military spokesman, told RBC on July 6.

A blow to the rear

TCRSS play a critical role in Ukraine's military mobilization. They store personnel records, gather reservists and manage conscription. In wartime, they serve as vital logistical hubs.

But these facilities are vulnerable. Often housed in ordinary administrative buildings, they have publicly known addresses and typically lack strong air defenses -- making them easy targets for low-cost kamikaze drones.

It is too early to call the attacks part of a broad Russian strategy but that their pattern is clear, Ivan Stupak, a former Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officer and analyst with the Ukrainian Institute of the Future, said.

"We have at least five confirmed strikes. One or two could be written off as a coincidence. But when there are already five, it's targeted work," he told Kontur.

Many of the recruitment data remain on paper, he said. Destroying those records can sow confusion and delay mobilization.

"It's like the reception desk of a clinic. No medical record means no medical history, no person," he said.

The strikes aim to kill both troops and conscripts and disrupt Ukraine's mobilization system, he said.

Russia appears to time the attacks during working hours "when both employees and conscripts are there," increasing the risk of mass casualties, he said.

Simultaneous attacks in multiple provinces could pose serious challenges. If the strikes continue, he warned, Ukraine could lose key rear guard personnel who would need to be replaced -- further hindering mobilization.

In response, some facilities are tightening security. A July 7 BBC Ukrainian report said a recruitment center in Vinnytsia province briefly published its new location before removing the announcement. In Lviv, Suspilne reported that security staff at TCRSS centers have added screening procedures, including the use of metal detectors.

Goal: demoralization and chaos

Russia's strikes on recruitment centers are part of a broader anti-mobilization campaign aimed at undermining Ukraine's ability to resist, said Serhiy Kuzan, director of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation.

"The AFU are currently the only force on this planet that is not giving Russia what it wants -- the complete occupation of Ukraine along with the annihilation of active pro-Ukrainian citizens and the forced mobilization of the population for 'suicidal assaults' [against Ukrainian forces], which is already happening in the temporarily occupied territories," he told Kontur.

Russian intelligence has used covert tactics, including recruiting or misleading Ukrainians to plant explosives in enlistment centers, said Kuzan. It then frames these incidents it as "spontaneous protest" or "revenge," which fit neatly into Kremlin propaganda that portrays Ukrainians as unwilling to fight and Russians as liberators.

Russia has made stopping Ukraine's mobilization a strategic priority, said Kuzan.

One of Moscow's core demands in the so-called "Russian memorandum" that it issued in June was a halt to Ukrainian conscription.

Alongside physical attacks, the Kremlin continues to wage a propaganda war. It spreads fake news on social networks, circulates phony videos and uses public forums and messaging apps to undermine morale.

Kuzan cited data from the Ukrainian Ground Forces showing that 86% of TCRSS-related incidents reported by media in June were linked to disinformation and psychological operations.

"It is important for civilians not to give in. Don't spread disinformation. Don't retweet fake news. Instead, support each other, learn battlefield medical care and if you're ready, join the Defense Forces," said Kuzan.

During earlier attacks near TCRSS facilities, public outrage often drove more men to enlist, Ivan Tymochko, chairman of the Council of Reservists of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, told LIGA.net on July 8.

"There were anger and public solidarity. The enemy stopped making such attacks then, because every strike could have resulted in an influx ... into the army."

Russia will likely stop targeting recruitment centers only if the public response turns against Moscow rather than against the Ukrainian military, Tymochko said.