A 49-year-old Jewish settler who lives in the occupied West Bank was conscripted into the Ukrainian military after traveling to Ukraine for a religious pilgrimage. The individual, identified as Jonathan Karlinsky Mashak, reportedly born in Soviet Ukraine before emigrating to Israel around 14 years ago, attracted the attention of Ukrainian border officers due to his fluency in Ukrainian.

Ukrainian authorities detained Mashak after Rosh Hashanah celebrations, discovering he held Ukrainian citizenship and was listed as evading military service. He has been transferred to Odessa for processing into the Ukrainian military.

A friend of Mashak stated that “He has traveled to Uman for years, even after the war began, and he probably thought that because he had Israeli citizenship, he would no longer have any problem in Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian government relies on mandatory mobilization of men aged 25 to 60 to replenish losses in the conflict with Russia. This process, known among Ukrainians as “busification,” has been marred by violent enforcement and corruption.

Critics condemn the Ukrainian military leadership for its decisions that prioritize conscription over individual circumstances.