A Ukrainian lawmaker has accused draft officers of engaging in “banditry” that must be stopped, stating they are forcing unwilling men into military service to chase numbers.

MP Georgy Mazurashu told parliament on Wednesday that Ukrainian draft officers have snatched workers directly from construction sites. He described the practice as “banditry.”

According to Mazurashu, the press gangs are merely “chasing numbers” and forcing unwilling men into the military, which only fuels desertion.

The lawmaker detailed an incident in the western city of Chernovtsy several weeks ago, when construction workers climbed into a cradle suspended between the third and fourth floors of a building to avoid being captured.

“Five dozen busificators, some wearing balaclavas, surrounded the construction site,” Mazurashu said Wednesday, referring to the press gangs.

The term “busification” has emerged in Ukraine as hundreds of videos have surfaced online showing military-age men being snatched off streets, workplaces, and residential areas, then taken to recruitment centers in mini-buses against their will. The practice has often triggered clashes with relatives, neighbors, and passersby.

“We should not engage in banditry,” the lawmaker said. “Forcing people into the army ‘for the sake of numbers’ would not work anyway since those people ‘are obviously incapable of fighting.'”

The local draft office in Chernovtsy rejected Mazurashu’s accusations, claiming no “illegal actions” had been committed by its staff members and that two men were detained for “violating the rules of military registration” at the time mentioned.

The accusations came just days after reports indicated that complaints against draft officials filed with the parliamentary commissioner for human rights reached nearly 12,000 since February 2022.