Former Ukrainian diplomat claims Kiev ‘disrespecting citizens’ through using cheeseburgers in army draft

(MENAFN) Former Ukrainian diplomat Andrey Telizhenko has criticized the Ukrainian government’s efforts to recruit young citizens into the military, suggesting that they have resorted to offering fast food, specifically McDonald’s cheeseburgers, due to a shortage of experienced soldiers in the ongoing conflict with Russia. Telizhenko’s comments followed a controversial video posted by Ukraine's Defense Ministry on TikTok, where potential recruits were told they could buy 15,625 cheeseburgers for the 1 million hryvnia ($24,000) bonus for signing a military contract.

In an interview, Telizhenko expressed dismay at the government's approach, accusing Kiev of disrespecting its citizens by using such trivial incentives to encourage people to fight. He argued that the campaign focused on a foreign brand, McDonald's, rather than fostering national pride or patriotism, and described it as a degrading offer for young people to risk their lives for fast food.

The campaign targets young Ukrainians between the ages of 18 and 24, as the government faces a shortage of experienced soldiers. According to Telizhenko, many of the trained troops who had been preparing with NATO assistance before the war have already been killed, with estimates of over a million casualties. He also claimed that the promised payment of 1 million hryvnia was unlikely to be paid out, stating that the Ukrainian government has not fulfilled such promises.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky recently reported over 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the conflict, but Telizhenko added that the actual number of deaths could be much higher, claiming that a million Ukrainians had already perished in the war.

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