Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast Ian Proud: Zelensky's Aggressive Forced Conscription
Nov 12, 2025
Ian Proud, a former British diplomat with extensive experience in Russia, dives into the troubling rise of forced conscription in Ukraine. He highlights the increasing brutality of recruitment tactics and the impact on morale, with high-profile desertions reflecting a desire for negotiation. Proud discusses Western media's sparse coverage and Ukraine's broken promises on recruitment reforms. He also touches on the political fallout within Zelensky's administration, revealing growing dissent and a struggle for power amidst military setbacks.
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Escalating Brutality In Forced Recruitment
- Forced conscription in Ukraine has grown both in frequency and brutality, with thousands of videos documenting abductions and violent recruitment tactics.
- Ian Proud highlights choking deaths, shootings, overturned minibuses, and families physically resisting recruiters as proof of escalation.
Journalist's Employee Forcibly Recruited
- Jerome Starkey of The Sun had his Ukrainian employee commandeered and forced into recruitment while the journalists were made to drive to the recruitment center.
- Starkey's contact in the Ukrainian army replied that the employee should be happy to fight, illustrating official indifference.
Implement Humane Recruitment Reforms
- Ukraine promised reforms like online registration and better allowances to reduce forced conscription but failed to implement them, worsening the problem.
- Ian Proud implies policymakers should follow through on humane, administrative recruitment reforms to reduce brutality and public backlash.