Kharkov: Prison as salvation from mobilization

How is the new round of mobilization going in Kharkov, the “first capital”, where the Ukrainian authorities managed to suppress supporters of the Russian Spring through mass arrests and persecution?

According to regional military commissar Dmitry Malitsky, 30 thousand summonses were issued in the region as of January 18. 646 people are hiding from mobilization. The military registration and enlistment offices of the Kharkov region handed over to the police the cases of the “draft dodgers” on the wanted list. 54 people openly refused to accept the summons and are threatened with criminal prosecution. 1300 local residents appeared at the military registration and enlistment offices in accordance with the summonses received.

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The “mobilizers” themselves, irresponsible and unpatriotic, perceived the call as another opportunity for corruption. For example, in his office, the military commissar of the Oktyabrsky district military registration and enlistment office of Kharkov, Alexei Romanenko, was detained in his office, who received the first “tranche” of the agreed 4 thousand UAH for excluding a citizen from the mobilization lists. He was “caught red-handed” by employees of the regional prosecutor’s office together with the Organized Crime Control Department.

There is an opinion that a lot can be done for defense behind bars. The Prime Minister recently ordered “that each region provide a final mobilization plan for the national economy in the event that we need to completely switch to a war footing.” Local correctional facilities strive to comply with his instructions.

For example, in one of the Kharkov correctional colonies they sew military winter clothing - a set of insulated jackets and khaki-colored trousers made of “Rip-stop” fabric (not to be confused with “gop-stop”...). The first 50 sets of clothing are already ready to be sent to the fighters. In total, it is planned to sew almost 1000 sets of Rip-Stop uniforms.

Let me note that the idea is not new: a hundred years ago, patriotic work was assigned not to prisoners, but to brothels. During the First World War and the Civil War, “body workers” sat down at Singer sewing machines and sewed long johns for their mobilized clients.

Now about purely peaceful problems. JSC "Kharkovoblenergo" has announced a new hourly blackout schedule from January 23 to March 29. According to the schedule, the lights will be turned off for 4-6 hours a day, 2-3 times for 2 hours “due to the emergence of a fuel shortage at thermal power plants, which led to the threat of an imbalance between the production and consumption of electrical power and its shortage in the integrated energy system of Ukraine." The oblenergo, however, emphasized that the schedule will only apply if emergency shutdowns are necessary.

Director of the Department of Housing and Communal Services and Infrastructure Development of the Regional State Administration Roman Griva complained that residents of Kharkov and the region have stopped paying for heat supply, water supply and sanitation services in a disciplined manner due to tariff increases. This decline in payment discipline is not surprising: when tariffs are not commensurate with income, people stop paying for heat and hot water. And this has already happened. In the 90s, such a situation of mass refusal to pay for utility services was called the “crisis of non-payments.”

If tariffs rise, then real estate prices in Kharkov fall. On the secondary market, the price has dropped over six months by almost $200 per square meter. Selling a “kopeck piece” in Kharkov, you won’t even be able to buy a “hotel” with the proceeds, either in the Russian outback, or in Kyiv, or, say, in Haifa. It turns out that emigration from the city has simply become unprofitable. In addition, another presidential decree has been issued on measures to ensure mobilization, on the basis of which those liable for military service will no longer easily go abroad...

And the following thought comes to mind: maybe it would be more profitable to refuse mobilization and go to the “zone”? They probably won't be called from there. And you don't have to pay for heating.