Every morning, Artem signs on for work as one of Ukraine’s feared recruitment officers in his home town somewhere in the country’s war-torn East.

After a short briefing, his team decides where they will go: some are sent to cafés, restaurants, even nightclubs – anywhere where young men of fighting age might be found.

Then, the difficult work begins.

“Sometimes it’s like dealing with a cornered rat,” Artem told The Telegraph, as he explained how he gets his targets into vans and off to desperate military recruitment centres.

“They continue fighting even while in the vehicle. Those who resist always threaten to take revenge on our guys or their families,” he added.

Ukraine’s military is suffering a chronic manpower crisis as the Russian army advances at its fastest pace since the war began.

Washington is now pressing Kyiv to lower the mobilisation age from 25 to 18 to replace its battlefield losses and help withstand Russia’s offensive.

The country’s very survival depends on how many extra bodies Artem’s team can get to the trenches – and how fast.