New Delhi, July 10 -- LVIV - In the summer heat of western Ukraine's largest city, roughly 200 civilians surrounded a military conscription vehicle Wednesday night, pulled it onto its side and attacked a police officer who came to intervene. By Thursday, prosecutors had opened two criminal cases.

a near-seventyfold increase that captures the mounting strain three years of mandatory military service have placed on Ukrainian society. New data has shown that men of draft age now account for a growing share of Ukrainian refugees reaching Europe, adding a parallel pressure on Kyiv's military pipeline.

The episode began after conscription officers stopped a man suspected of evading mandatory service. A crowd that assembled outside the vehicle...