From Existential Defence to Professional Opportunity: Evolving Imagined Audiences in Ukrainian Military Recruitment Discourse (2022–2025)

From Existential Defence to Professional Opportunity: Evolving Imagined Audiences in Ukrainian Military Recruitment Discourse (2022–2025) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article From Existential Defence to Professional Opportunity: Evolving Imagined Audiences in Ukrainian Military Recruitment Discourse (2022–2025) Oleh Ivanov This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9187966/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have adapted recruitment communication amid shifting wartime demands and institutional reforms. Grounded in theories of imagined audiences —the publics rhetorically constructed by communicators through language, imagery, and appeals—this study traces how official discourse reconfigures target publics over time, from broad existential defence framing to targeted professional opportunity. The analysis draws on qualitative discourse and semiotic approaches to publicly available materials, including early Territorial Recruitment Center mobilisation practices, initial brigade-level campaigns, and subsequent institutional recruitment portals. Early discourse positioned recruits as an undifferentiated collective of patriotic defenders facing immediate civilisational threat, employing sacrificial urgency and apocalyptic semiotics to mobilise mass participation. Later materials, reflecting professionalisation efforts, segment audiences into skilled domestic civilians, youth seeking merit-based roles, and diaspora Ukrainians as empowered volunteers, emphasising individual choice, anonymity, skill alignment, advanced training standards, and inclusive belonging. These shifts illuminate broader dynamics in military culture: recruitment communication moves from coercive, nationalism-driven socialisation toward a meritocratic institution that fosters belonging through agency, professionalism, and community integration. The evolution highlights tensions between wartime exigency and long-term identity construction, revealing how armed forces negotiate power, inclusion, and societal relations in discourse. The findings advance understanding of imagined audiences in high-stakes institutional messaging and contribute to interdisciplinary scholarship on military identity, nationalism, professionalism, and belonging in global contexts under existential pressure. Humanities/Cultural and media studies Social science/Cultural and media studies Humanities/Language and linguistics Social science/Language and linguistics Humanities/Literature Social science/Politics and international relations imagined audiences military recruitment discourse Ukrainian Armed Forces military culture nationalism professionalism belonging civil-military relations Introduction Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 marked a profound rupture in European security and triggered one of the most intense and prolonged conventional conflicts since the Second World War. In response, the Ukrainian state mobilised society on an unprecedented scale, transforming the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU) from a relatively small professional military into a mass institution reliant on both voluntary enlistment and compulsory mobilisation. This rapid expansion placed extraordinary demands on recruitment systems, which evolved significantly over the subsequent years to address manpower shortages, sustain combat effectiveness, and adapt to shifting public perceptions amid war fatigue and institutional reforms. Recruitment communication serves as a critical site for examining how armed forces construct and negotiate military identity, nationalism, professionalism, and societal belonging during existential crisis. Official messaging—whether through mobilisation summons, brigade campaigns, or dedicated recruitment portals—does more than convey practical information; it rhetorically constitutes imagined audiences (Litt and Boyd, 2013; Marwick and Boyd, 2011 ), the publics that communicators envision and address through strategic appeals, language, and visual semiotics. In institutional contexts such as military recruitment, these constructed audiences reflect and reproduce power relations, ideological priorities, and cultural norms, shaping who is invited (or compelled) to participate in national defence and on what terms. The concept of imagined audiences originates in media and communication studies, particularly analyses of social media environments where communicators navigate collapsed contexts and multiple potential recipients. Marwick and Boyd ( 2011 ) argue that users on platforms like Twitter construct an “imagined audience” through strategic self-presentation, balancing authenticity, concealment, and targeting to manage diverse or unknown viewers. Litt ( 2012 ) and Litt and Hargittai ( 2016 ) extend this framework, demonstrating how individuals mentally model audiences based on platform cues and social norms, often inaccurately but adaptively. In institutional settings, such as military recruitment, imagined audiences become tools for ideological work: recruiters envision and address publics (e.g., patriotic youth, skilled professionals, diaspora members) to align personal motivations with collective defence needs. When applied to high-stakes wartime communication, the framework reveals how discourse performs socialisation work: it not only recruits individuals but also reproduces or challenges ideas of nationalism (as primordial duty versus civic contribution), professionalism (as elite vocation versus mass obligation), and belonging (as coerced solidarity versus chosen community). This intersects with classic and contemporary studies of military culture and civil-military relations . Huntington ( 1957 ) theorises “objective civilian control” through military professionalism: an autonomous, apolitical officer corps subordinate to civilian authority, emphasising expertise, corporate identity, and separation from politics. In contrast, subjective control integrates the military more closely with societal values. Huntington’s work, foundational in the field, highlights professionalism as a stabilising force but has been critiqued for underplaying political dimensions in modern contexts (e.g., Nix, 2012 ). King ( 2011 ) builds on this by examining contemporary military socialisation, where cohesion arises from shared practices, rituals, and professional norms rather than mere coercion. In wartime Ukraine, recruitment discourse evolves toward Huntingtonian professionalism (skill-matching, NATO standards, merit-based entry) while negotiating belonging amid existential threat—illustrating tensions between mass mobilisation and institutional modernisation. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) provides methodological and analytical depth for interrogating power in these texts. Van Dijk ( 2015 ) defines CDA as studying how discourse enacts, reproduces, or resists social power abuse and inequality, focusing on control over minds and actions through access to discourse genres. Wodak ( 2001 ; Fairclough and Wodak, 1997 ) emphasises historical and contextual dimensions, analysing how language legitimates ideologies in political and crisis communication. In military/wartime contexts, CDA uncovers how metaphors, pronouns, and framing construct “us/them” binaries, justify sacrifice, or normalise professional service (e.g., van Dijk on power as control; applications to propaganda and conflict narratives). Here, CDA enables examination of how early Ukrainian appeals legitimate coercive mobilisation through sacrificial nationalism, while later discourse legitimates voluntary enlistment through empowerment and inclusion—revealing shifts in power dynamics from state compulsion to institutional facilitation. Scholarship on Ukrainian wartime media and recruitment remains emerging but relevant. Studies highlight transformations in advertising and propaganda (e.g., Kochkina, 2025 , on civilian soft power via mobilisation codes in advertising discourse; the New York Times interactive, 2025, tracing visual evolution from apocalyptic to normalised career framing). Broader work on Russo-Ukrainian war media (e.g., multinational corpora analysing framing and stance; historical analogies in Ukrainian discourse) underscores competing narratives of resistance, victimhood, and legitimacy. Few, however, systematically apply imagined-audiences theory to diachronic recruitment shifts or link them to military culture professionalisation. This study bridges these gaps, contributing to interdisciplinary understandings of how discourse shapes identity and belonging in democratic militaries under existential strain. Early in the conflict (2022–early 2023), recruitment operated predominantly through Territorial Recruitment Centers (TCCs) and generic national calls, supplemented by emerging brigade-level initiatives. Discourse emphasised collective patriotic sacrifice and immediate existential defence: enlisting was framed as a moral imperative to repel an invading force threatening national survival, with apocalyptic imagery and urgent calls to arms dominating visual and textual appeals. The imagined audience was broad and undifferentiated—primarily able-bodied citizens positioned as immediate defenders of the homeland, with little emphasis on individual agency, skill alignment, or long-term professional benefits. By 2024–2025, however, recruitment infrastructure professionalised markedly. New institutional portals and targeted campaigns reframed service as voluntary choice, merit-based opportunity, and pathway to personal and communal fulfilment. Appeals shifted toward anonymity guarantees, skill-matching, advanced training standards, inclusive participation (including women and diaspora Ukrainians), and material incentives, constructing more segmented audiences: skilled domestic civilians, youth seeking structured career entry, and transnational volunteers empowered within a unified Ukrainian military community. This evolution mirrors broader efforts to modernise the ZSU, reduce reliance on coercive mobilisation, and foster a professional military culture aligned with NATO standards and post-war sustainability. The central research question is: How have imagined audiences in official Ukrainian military recruitment discourse evolved from 2022 to 2025, and what do these changes reveal about shifting constructions of nationalism, professionalism, and belonging in wartime military culture? The remainder of the article proceeds as follows. The next section details the methodology and data corpus. Subsequent sections present the findings: first, the early existential-defence phase; second, the later professional-opportunity phase; and third, a comparative discussion linking discursive shifts to broader military-socialisation dynamics. The conclusion reflects on theoretical and comparative implications for global studies of armed forces and recruitment communication. Methods This study employs a qualitative approach combining discourse analysis and semiotic analysis to examine the construction of imagined audiences in Ukrainian military recruitment materials from 2022 to 2025. The methodology is interpretive and text-centred, drawing on critical discourse analysis (CDA) principles to uncover how language, visual elements, and rhetorical strategies enact power, ideology, and identity in institutional communication (van Dijk, 2015; Wodak, 2001). It is complemented by semiotic reading of imagery and multimodal elements (e.g., posters, banners, video stills) to reveal how non-verbal signs contribute to audience positioning and meaning-making (Barthes, 1977; Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006). Data Corpus The primary data consist of publicly available online recruitment materials, ensuring full reproducibility and ethical compliance (no human participants involved; all sources are open-access state or official military websites and archived media). The corpus is stratified diachronically to capture evolution: Early phase (2022–early 2023) Materials reflecting broad mobilisation via Territorial Recruitment Centers (TCCs) and initial brigade-level campaigns. Key examples include • Descriptions of TCC processes from contemporaneous journalistic accounts (e.g., generic summons, street checks, minimal training assignment). • Third Separate Assault Brigade campaigns: posters and social-media posts (e.g., April 2023 “Join the decisive battle” billboard showing advancing soldiers in scorched landscapes; November 2023 zombie-themed imagery symbolising existential threat). These were disseminated via brigade Facebook and Instagram accounts, with archived examples still accessible. Later phase (2024–2025) Institutional portals and linked vacancy platforms • recruiting.mod.gov.ua (launched February 2024): homepage text, news sections, anonymity guarantees, applicant statistics framing, and procedural descriptions. • army.gov.ua: contract categories (“Обери свій шлях” / “Choose Your Path”), benefits paragraphs, youth/drone/specialist appeals. • legion.army.gov.ua (launched October 2024): diaspora-focused slogans (“БУДЬ СОБОЮ” / “Be Yourself”), eligibility inclusivity, high-salary/NATO-training framing. • Linked external boards (e.g., lobbyx.army, defence.robota.ua): sample vacancy postings emphasising skill-matching and unit choice. The sample comprises 52 textual units (slogans, paragraphs, eligibility statements) and 13 visual items (posters, banners, social-media screenshots). Materials were collected via systematic keyword searches (e.g., “приєднуйся до ЗСУ”, “join UA army”, brigade names + “recruitment”) on official sites, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, with date-stamping for temporal analysis. Archival tools (e.g., Wayback Machine where available) and persistent URLs ensure traceability. Analytical Procedure Analysis proceeded in iterative stages: 1. Initial coding : Inductive thematic coding identified recurring motifs (e.g., sacrifice vs. choice, collective vs. individual agency, patriotic urgency vs. merit-based inclusion). Manual coding tables tracked patterns across phases. 2. Discourse strategies : Guided by Wodak’s discursive strategies (nomination, predication, argumentation, perspectivisation, intensification/mitigation) and van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach, texts were examined for: • Pronoun use (“we”/“you” to construct belonging or direct address). • Modality (high-urgency imperatives in early phase vs. enabling conditionals later). • Framing (existential threat metaphors vs. empowerment/opportunity). 3. Semiotic analysis : Visuals were read multimodally—vectorial composition (gaze, vectors directing viewer attention), colour (national blue/yellow vs. apocalyptic dark tones), and symbolic elements (zombies as dehumanised enemy; drones/laptops as modern professionalism). 4. Diachronic comparison : Themes were contrasted across phases to map shifts in imagined audiences (from undifferentiated patriotic defenders to segmented skilled/domestic/diaspora volunteers). 5. Reflexivity and rigour : As desk-based analysis of public discourse, no formal ethical approval was required. Transparency is maintained through direct quotation, source citation, and acknowledgment of potential researcher positioning (as analyst of Ukrainian wartime communication). Saturation was achieved when additional items reiterated established patterns. Limitations The corpus is limited to official, publicly accessible materials; unofficial or deleted brigade posts may be underrepresented. Focus on Ukrainian-language originals (with English translations for accessibility) privileges state-sanctioned discourse over grassroots perceptions. Future work could incorporate audience reception studies. Findings The analysis reveals a marked diachronic shift in Ukrainian military recruitment discourse from 2022 to 2025, moving from broad, existential-defence framing to targeted, professional-opportunity appeals. This evolution reflects institutional adaptations to prolonged conflict, manpower sustainability needs, and efforts to modernise the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU). The section organises findings by phase, supported by textual excerpts, rhetorical patterns, semiotic observations, and additional examples from the corpus. All data derive from publicly accessible sources (cited inline; full references at manuscript end). Early Phase: Existential Defence and Undifferentiated Patriotic Defenders (2022–Early 2023) Recruitment relied primarily on Territorial Recruitment Centers (TCCs) for compulsory mobilisation, supplemented by emerging brigade-level campaigns from spring 2023. Discourse constructed an imagined audience of homogeneous able-bodied citizens (mainly men aged 18–60) as immediate, sacrificial defenders facing national annihilation. Rhetorical strategies featured high-urgency imperatives, collective nomination, and apocalyptic semiotics, with no emphasis on individual choice, anonymity, skill-matching, or long-term benefits. • TCC and generic mobilisation framing : Processes involved street checks, public summons, and forced transport, framed as obligatory patriotic duty. No online portals existed; appeals used collective imperatives (e.g., inferred from contemporaneous reports: “Всі на захист!” / “Everyone to defence!”) and national symbols (trident, trenches). Power was enacted through state coercion; belonging derived from compelled solidarity against existential threat. • Brigade-level campaigns (Third Separate Assault Brigade as key exemplar) : • April 2023 “Join the decisive battle” poster (New York Times, 2025): Depicted armour-clad soldiers advancing across a scorched-earth battlefield with helicopter and drone support. Dark, desaturated palette with fire accents symbolised devastation; forward vectors created momentum and urgency. Slogan: “Приєднуйся до вирішальної битви” (“Join the decisive battle”). Direct address and high-modality predication positioned enlistment as the pivotal act in repelling invasion. Imagined audience: every capable citizen required for collective survival ahead of the anticipated counteroffensive. • November 2023 zombie-themed campaign (New York Times, 2025; brigade Facebook archive): Ukrainian fighters confronted advancing zombie hordes (rotting, mindless figures symbolising Russian troops as “brainwashed” invaders). Apocalyptic background (ruins, dark skies); high-contrast heroism vs. dehumanised evil. Variations: “Fight in the Third Assault”; implied “if you don’t fight now, darkness will prevail.” Quote from brigade media head: emphasis on preventing civilisational collapse. Horror-genre framing intensified existential stakes. Disseminated via Facebook/Instagram posts and shares (e.g., archived photo: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=847960311552116&set=a.102349639446524&type=3). Imagined audience: broad patriots halting mindless evil through sacrifice. • Additional early visuals : Generic TCC-era billboards (2022–early 2023) featured national trident, soldiers in trenches, and patriotic blue/yellow palette with static heroic poses (no individualisation; collective duty symbols). Early discourse employed intensification (threat metaphors, urgent calls) and perspectivisation (righteous “us” vs. existential “them”), reproducing primordial nationalism and coerced belonging. Later Phase: Professional Opportunity and Segmented Audiences (2024–2025) Dedicated portals (recruiting.mod.gov.ua launched February 2024; legion.army.gov.ua October 2024) and linked vacancy platforms reframed service as voluntary, merit-based, and empowering. Imagined audiences segmented into skilled domestic civilians, youth, technical specialists, and diaspora Ukrainians. Strategies shifted to mitigation (anonymity, accompaniment), enablement (choice, skills), and positive predication (inclusion, community). • Domestic core audience (recruiting.mod.gov.ua and army.gov.ua) : • Anonymity guarantee: “Центр рекрутингу гарантує Вашу цілковиту анонімність та не співпрацює з ТЦК” (“The Recruiting Center guarantees your complete anonymity and does not cooperate with TCC”) (recruiting.mod.gov.ua, n.d./accessed 2026). • Accompaniment: “Наші рекрутери/ки … допоможуть … обрати військову частину … та супроводжуватимуть на шляху до призначення на посаду” (“Our recruiters … will help … choose a military unit … and accompany you on the path to appointment”) (recruiting.mod.gov.ua). • Youth/specialist contracts: “Добровільна служба для молоді з чітким терміном служби, значними виплатами та соціальними гарантіями” (“Voluntary service for youth with a clear service term, significant payments, and social guarantees”); “Служба у найефективніших підрозділах безпілотних систем” (“Service in the most effective unmanned systems units”) (army.gov.ua, n.d./accessed 2026). • Slogans: “Обери свій шлях” (“Choose Your Path”); “Служи із тими, хто цінує кожного” (“Serve with those who value everyone”). Imagined audience: rational, aspirational individuals (youth, women, tech-skilled) seeking meritocratic entry. • Diaspora/transnational audience (legion.army.gov.ua) : • Core slogan: “БУДЬ СОБОЮ” (“Be Yourself”). • Inclusivity: “Обставини виїзду з України не мають значення. Важливим є бажання виконувати завдання і брати участь у спільній місії” (“The circumstances of leaving Ukraine do not matter. What is important is the desire to perform tasks and participate in the common mission”). • Community framing: “Служба в Українському легіоні – це унікальна можливість стати частиною об’єднаної військової спільноти українців” (“Service in the Ukrainian Legion is a unique opportunity to become part of the united military community of Ukrainians”) (legion.army.gov.ua, n.d./accessed 2026). • Imagined audience: empowered Ukrainians abroad joining voluntarily on personal terms. • Visual and multimodal shifts : Portals adopted clean, minimalist layouts (blue/yellow palette, procedural icons, no combat horror). Linked campaigns emphasised modern tools (drones, laptops) and lifestyle. The semiotic and multimodal shifts across the two phases are summarised in Table 1. Table 1 Visual Description Table (Semiotic Excerpt) Phase Source / Campaign Visual Description Key Semiotic Elements Imagined Audience Effect Early (2023) Third Assault Brigade – “Join the decisive battle” (April) Armoured soldiers advancing across scorched battlefield; helicopters/drones overhead; dark desaturated palette with fire accents (New York Times, 2025) Forward vectors (urgency/momentum); apocalyptic tones; heroic figures Urgent collective defenders for survival Early (2023) Third Assault Brigade – Zombie campaign (November) Soldiers firing at zombie hordes (rotting monsters); ruins/dark skies; high-contrast heroism vs. evil (New York Times, 2025; brigade Facebook archive) Dehumanised “other” (zombies); horror framing; symbolic civilisational threat Sacrificial patriots halting apocalypse Early (2022–2023) Generic TCC-era billboards National trident, trench soldiers; bright patriotic blue/yellow; static heroic poses Collective national symbols; no personalisation Undifferentiated duty-bound citizens Later (2024–2026) recruiting.mod.gov.ua homepage Text-heavy institutional layout; modern procedural icons (no combat imagery) Minimalist design; blue/yellow; enabling icons Rational civilians seeking guided, safe entry Later (2024–2026) army.gov.ua contract tiles Category cards with drone/laptop icons, youth silhouettes Tech/aspirational imagery; structured, modern layout Skilled youth/specialists choosing merit roles Later (2024–2026) legion.army.gov.ua homepage Community text blocks; subtle Ukrainian symbols; prominent application form Empowerment prominence; no threat elements Empowered diaspora joining unified community Comparative Patterns • Audience: From broad collective to segmented (skilled/domestic/diaspora). • Power: From coercive to facilitative. • Framing: Nationalism from sacrificial to civic/professional; belonging from compelled to chosen. • Semiotics: Apocalyptic intensity to aspirational minimalism. These patterns indicate military culture’s shift toward professionalisation and inclusion for long-term sustainability. Discussion The findings demonstrate a profound transformation in Ukrainian military recruitment discourse between 2022 and 2025, one that aligns closely with the theoretical frameworks outlined in the introduction. Through the lens of imagined audiences (Marwick & Boyd, 2011 ; Litt, 2012 ), the shift from an undifferentiated, existentially threatened collective to segmented, agentic, and professionally oriented publics reveals how communicators adapt rhetorical strategies to changing socio-political and military realities. Early discourse addressed a broad, homogeneous “nation-in-arms,” employing apocalyptic semiotics and sacrificial appeals to mobilise mass participation under conditions of acute existential threat. Later materials, by contrast, construct multiple distinct audiences—skilled domestic youth, technical specialists, and diaspora volunteers—through enabling language, anonymity assurances, and meritocratic promises, thereby reframing military service as a voluntary, individualised choice rather than an inescapable national duty. This evolution can be interpreted as a discursive response to the prolonged nature of the conflict. In the initial phase (2022–early 2023), the combination of rapid territorial losses, massive mobilisation requirements, and widespread societal solidarity made high-intensity, collective framing effective for generating immediate enlistment. The zombie metaphor and “decisive battle” imagery, for instance, functioned as powerful argumentative devices (van Dijk, 2015 ) that intensified perceived threat and legitimated urgent action, while simultaneously reinforcing a primordial nationalist identity rooted in collective sacrifice (Wodak, 2001 ). The imagined audience here was not invited to negotiate terms of service but compelled to participate in a civilisational struggle—a construction consistent with wartime propaganda patterns observed in other historical contexts. By 2024–2025, however, sustained attrition, war fatigue, public criticism of coercive TCC practices, and the need for sustainable, specialised manpower necessitated a different approach. The introduction of dedicated recruitment portals and the explicit rejection of TCC cooperation signalled a deliberate move toward professionalisation (Huntington, 1957 ; King, 2011 ). Slogans such as “Обери свій шлях” and “БУДЬ СОБОЮ” perform perspectivisation and predication work that positions the state as a facilitative partner rather than an authoritarian enforcer. Anonymity guarantees and skill-matching appeals mitigate perceptions of coercion, while NATO-standard training, high salaries, and inclusive language construct belonging through chosen community and individual agency rather than imposed obligation. This reframing echoes Huntington’s model of objective civilian control via professional autonomy, albeit adapted to a democratic wartime context where legitimacy depends on public consent. Theoretically, these shifts highlight the plasticity of imagined audiences in institutional crisis communication. Whereas early discourse collapsed context into a singular, high-stakes national audience (Marwick & Boyd, 2011 ), later materials strategically segment publics to address diverse motivations—patriotism for some, career development for others, diasporic reconnection for those abroad. This segmentation performs important ideological work: it softens tensions between wartime exigency and liberal-democratic values (choice, inclusion, merit), while still preserving nationalism as a core organising principle, now recast in civic and professional terms rather than purely sacrificial ones. The findings also speak directly to the themes of cultures of command , identity , power , and belonging in global militaries. The Ukrainian case illustrates how recruitment discourse serves as a key mechanism of military socialisation (King, 2011 ), moulding not only recruits but also broader societal perceptions of the armed forces. The move from coercive mobilisation to voluntary professional entry reflects an attempt to build a more resilient, inclusive military culture capable of long-term endurance—one that values expertise and personal investment over sheer numbers. At the same time, the persistence of nationalist appeals (albeit softened) underscores the enduring role of collective identity in sustaining cohesion under existential pressure. Several implications emerge. First, the evolution suggests that wartime militaries in democratic societies may increasingly rely on persuasive, segmented communication to maintain legitimacy and effectiveness when compulsory models become politically costly or demographically unsustainable. Second, the Ukrainian experience offers comparative insight for other conflict-affected states: professionalisation of recruitment discourse can enhance inclusion (e.g., women, diaspora, technical specialists) and civil-military trust, but risks commodifying service in ways that dilute traditional notions of sacrifice and duty. Finally, the study underscores the value of diachronic discourse analysis for capturing institutional adaptation in real time, particularly in contexts where rapid change outpaces conventional scholarship. Limitations notwithstanding—the focus on official texts excludes unofficial or oppositional voices, and desk-based analysis cannot capture audience reception—the findings provide robust evidence of discursive transformation with clear relevance to military culture, nationalism, and belonging in contemporary armed forces. Conclusion This study has traced the evolution of imagined audiences in Ukrainian military recruitment discourse from the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 through 2025. The analysis demonstrates a clear trajectory: early messaging (2022–early 2023) constructed a broad, undifferentiated collective of patriotic defenders facing existential threat, employing sacrificial urgency, apocalyptic semiotics, and collective imperatives to mobilise society under acute crisis conditions. By 2024–2025, institutional portals and targeted campaigns reframed service as voluntary professional opportunity, segmenting audiences into skilled domestic youth, technical specialists, and diaspora Ukrainians, and emphasising individual choice, anonymity, skill alignment, advanced training, inclusion, and chosen belonging. These discursive shifts are not merely communicative adjustments; they reflect deeper transformations in military culture and civil-military relations. The move from coercive, mass-mobilisation rhetoric to meritocratic, facilitative appeals signals an attempt to build a more sustainable, professionalised armed force capable of long-term endurance amid prolonged war. It negotiates the tension between wartime exigency—requiring rapid, widespread participation—and democratic-liberal values of agency, inclusion, and consent. Nationalism persists as a core organising principle, but is rearticulated from primordial sacrifice to civic contribution and personal investment within a modern institution. Theoretically, the findings affirm the utility of imagined audiences as a lens for understanding institutional messaging in high-stakes contexts (Marwick & Boyd, 2011 ; Litt, 2012 ). They illustrate how communicators strategically segment and reconfigure publics to align diverse motivations with collective defence needs, while also highlighting the interplay between discourse, power, and identity formation in military socialisation (King, 2011 ; Huntington, 1957 ). Critical discourse analysis further reveals how rhetorical and semiotic choices legitimate changing modes of control—from overt coercion to subtle enablement—and reproduce or challenge societal norms around belonging and duty. The Ukrainian case holds comparative relevance beyond its specific context. It exemplifies how democratic militaries under existential pressure may adapt recruitment communication to maintain legitimacy, enhance inclusion (women, diaspora, skilled civilians), and foster trust when traditional compulsory models become politically or demographically strained. At the same time, the transition risks diluting traditional notions of collective sacrifice in favour of individualised, career-oriented framing—a tension that merits further cross-national investigation. Future research could extend this work in several directions: (1) audience reception studies to examine how different publics interpret and respond to these evolving appeals; (2) comparative analyses with other conflict-affected or professionalising militaries (e.g., Israel, Finland, or post-Soviet states); (3) longitudinal tracking of discourse beyond 2025 to assess post-war trajectories; and (4) multimodal investigations incorporating video campaigns and social-media engagement metrics. Ultimately, this analysis contributes to the exploration of cultures of command by showing how recruitment discourse functions as a primary site for negotiating identity, power, professionalism, nationalism, and belonging in contemporary armed forces. In doing so, it underscores the dynamic, adaptive role of communication in sustaining military institutions—and the societies they defend—under conditions of prolonged existential challenge. Declarations Ethical approval: This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors. Informed consent: This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors. Author Contribution Oleh Ivanov: conceptualization, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, writing—original draft, review and editing. Data Availability The data analysed in this study are publicly available online from the following sources (all accessed between February and March 2026):Ukrainian Army Recruitment Center portal: https://recruiting.mod.gov.ua/Armed Forces of Ukraine main portal: https://army.gov.ua/Ukrainian Legion portal: https://legion.army.gov.ua/New York Times interactive feature containing early-phase recruitment campaign visuals and posters: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/02/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-recruitment-campaign.htmlThird Assault Brigade Facebook archive example (November 2023 zombie campaign billboard): https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=847960311552116&set=a.102349639446524&type=3No new datasets were generated or analysed during the study. The full corpus of 52 textual units and 13 visual items is directly accessible via the persistent public URLs listed above. References Barthes R (1977) Image-Music-Text. 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Sage, pp 63–94 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 07 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 03 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 09 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 08 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 05 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 05 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9187966","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":623441193,"identity":"b90ce94e-b706-451d-96ac-9b94ca795cbc","order_by":0,"name":"Oleh Ivanov","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA0klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDCCAxCKsYG9AUgZWJCihQfEMpAgRYtEAogmQgvf7QPMH37uOCzbP/P51Q0/CiQY+Nu7E/BqkTyXwGDYe+aw8YzbOWU3e4AOkzhzdgNeLQZnGBgSeNsOJzbczkm7wQPUYiCRS1jLwb9ALfNvnkm7+YdILYzNIFs23GA/dpsoWyTPMDYzy7alG288k8N2W8ZAgoegX/jOMB/++LbNWnbe8ePPbr75YyPH396LXwsoRqAMHgMwSUA5CmB/QIrqUTAKRsEoGEEAAK7MTRR54UDLAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"International Sociological Association","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Oleh","middleName":"","lastName":"Ivanov","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-21 20:53:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9187966/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9187966/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107483654,"identity":"7b1814c0-97c0-4e23-93b3-9381be83622a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:28:34","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":270906,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9187966/v1/a9ea70f2-9e5e-4301-8717-9e3987c1a3b7.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"From Existential Defence to Professional Opportunity: Evolving Imagined Audiences in Ukrainian Military Recruitment Discourse (2022–2025)","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eRussia\u0026rsquo;s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 marked a profound rupture in European security and triggered one of the most intense and prolonged conventional conflicts since the Second World War. In response, the Ukrainian state mobilised society on an unprecedented scale, transforming the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU) from a relatively small professional military into a mass institution reliant on both voluntary enlistment and compulsory mobilisation. This rapid expansion placed extraordinary demands on recruitment systems, which evolved significantly over the subsequent years to address manpower shortages, sustain combat effectiveness, and adapt to shifting public perceptions amid war fatigue and institutional reforms.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecruitment communication serves as a critical site for examining how armed forces construct and negotiate military identity, nationalism, professionalism, and societal belonging during existential crisis. Official messaging\u0026mdash;whether through mobilisation summons, brigade campaigns, or dedicated recruitment portals\u0026mdash;does more than convey practical information; it rhetorically constitutes \u003cem\u003eimagined audiences\u003c/em\u003e (Litt and Boyd, 2013; Marwick and Boyd, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e), the publics that communicators envision and address through strategic appeals, language, and visual semiotics. In institutional contexts such as military recruitment, these constructed audiences reflect and reproduce power relations, ideological priorities, and cultural norms, shaping who is invited (or compelled) to participate in national defence and on what terms.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe concept of \u003cem\u003eimagined audiences\u003c/em\u003e originates in media and communication studies, particularly analyses of social media environments where communicators navigate collapsed contexts and multiple potential recipients. Marwick and Boyd (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e) argue that users on platforms like Twitter construct an \u0026ldquo;imagined audience\u0026rdquo; through strategic self-presentation, balancing authenticity, concealment, and targeting to manage diverse or unknown viewers. Litt (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e) and Litt and Hargittai (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e) extend this framework, demonstrating how individuals mentally model audiences based on platform cues and social norms, often inaccurately but adaptively. In institutional settings, such as military recruitment, imagined audiences become tools for ideological work: recruiters envision and address publics (e.g., patriotic youth, skilled professionals, diaspora members) to align personal motivations with collective defence needs. When applied to high-stakes wartime communication, the framework reveals how discourse performs socialisation work: it not only recruits individuals but also reproduces or challenges ideas of nationalism (as primordial duty versus civic contribution), professionalism (as elite vocation versus mass obligation), and belonging (as coerced solidarity versus chosen community).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis intersects with classic and contemporary studies of \u003cem\u003emilitary culture and civil-military relations\u003c/em\u003e. Huntington (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1957\u003c/span\u003e) theorises \u0026ldquo;objective civilian control\u0026rdquo; through military professionalism: an autonomous, apolitical officer corps subordinate to civilian authority, emphasising expertise, corporate identity, and separation from politics. In contrast, subjective control integrates the military more closely with societal values. Huntington\u0026rsquo;s work, foundational in the field, highlights professionalism as a stabilising force but has been critiqued for underplaying political dimensions in modern contexts (e.g., Nix, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). King (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e) builds on this by examining contemporary military socialisation, where cohesion arises from shared practices, rituals, and professional norms rather than mere coercion. In wartime Ukraine, recruitment discourse evolves toward Huntingtonian professionalism (skill-matching, NATO standards, merit-based entry) while negotiating belonging amid existential threat\u0026mdash;illustrating tensions between mass mobilisation and institutional modernisation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCritical discourse analysis (CDA) provides methodological and analytical depth for interrogating power in these texts. Van Dijk (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) defines CDA as studying how discourse enacts, reproduces, or resists social power abuse and inequality, focusing on control over minds and actions through access to discourse genres. Wodak (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e; Fairclough and Wodak, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e) emphasises historical and contextual dimensions, analysing how language legitimates ideologies in political and crisis communication. In military/wartime contexts, CDA uncovers how metaphors, pronouns, and framing construct \u0026ldquo;us/them\u0026rdquo; binaries, justify sacrifice, or normalise professional service (e.g., van Dijk on power as control; applications to propaganda and conflict narratives). Here, CDA enables examination of how early Ukrainian appeals legitimate coercive mobilisation through sacrificial nationalism, while later discourse legitimates voluntary enlistment through empowerment and inclusion\u0026mdash;revealing shifts in power dynamics from state compulsion to institutional facilitation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eScholarship on Ukrainian wartime media and recruitment remains emerging but relevant. Studies highlight transformations in advertising and propaganda (e.g., Kochkina, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e, on civilian soft power via mobilisation codes in advertising discourse; the New York Times interactive, 2025, tracing visual evolution from apocalyptic to normalised career framing). Broader work on Russo-Ukrainian war media (e.g., multinational corpora analysing framing and stance; historical analogies in Ukrainian discourse) underscores competing narratives of resistance, victimhood, and legitimacy. Few, however, systematically apply imagined-audiences theory to diachronic recruitment shifts or link them to military culture professionalisation. This study bridges these gaps, contributing to interdisciplinary understandings of how discourse shapes identity and belonging in democratic militaries under existential strain.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEarly in the conflict (2022\u0026ndash;early 2023), recruitment operated predominantly through Territorial Recruitment Centers (TCCs) and generic national calls, supplemented by emerging brigade-level initiatives. Discourse emphasised collective patriotic sacrifice and immediate existential defence: enlisting was framed as a moral imperative to repel an invading force threatening national survival, with apocalyptic imagery and urgent calls to arms dominating visual and textual appeals. The imagined audience was broad and undifferentiated\u0026mdash;primarily able-bodied citizens positioned as immediate defenders of the homeland, with little emphasis on individual agency, skill alignment, or long-term professional benefits.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy 2024\u0026ndash;2025, however, recruitment infrastructure professionalised markedly. New institutional portals and targeted campaigns reframed service as voluntary choice, merit-based opportunity, and pathway to personal and communal fulfilment. Appeals shifted toward anonymity guarantees, skill-matching, advanced training standards, inclusive participation (including women and diaspora Ukrainians), and material incentives, constructing more segmented audiences: skilled domestic civilians, youth seeking structured career entry, and transnational volunteers empowered within a unified Ukrainian military community. This evolution mirrors broader efforts to modernise the ZSU, reduce reliance on coercive mobilisation, and foster a professional military culture aligned with NATO standards and post-war sustainability.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe central research question is: How have imagined audiences in official Ukrainian military recruitment discourse evolved from 2022 to 2025, and what do these changes reveal about shifting constructions of nationalism, professionalism, and belonging in wartime military culture?\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe remainder of the article proceeds as follows. The next section details the methodology and data corpus. Subsequent sections present the findings: first, the early existential-defence phase; second, the later professional-opportunity phase; and third, a comparative discussion linking discursive shifts to broader military-socialisation dynamics. The conclusion reflects on theoretical and comparative implications for global studies of armed forces and recruitment communication.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study employs a qualitative approach combining \u003cem\u003ediscourse analysis\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003esemiotic analysis\u003c/em\u003e to examine the construction of imagined audiences in Ukrainian military recruitment materials from 2022 to 2025. The methodology is interpretive and text-centred, drawing on critical discourse analysis (CDA) principles to uncover how language, visual elements, and rhetorical strategies enact power, ideology, and identity in institutional communication (van Dijk, 2015; Wodak, 2001). It is complemented by semiotic reading of imagery and multimodal elements (e.g., posters, banners, video stills) to reveal how non-verbal signs contribute to audience positioning and meaning-making (Barthes, 1977; Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eData Corpus\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe primary data consist of publicly available online recruitment materials, ensuring full reproducibility and ethical compliance (no human participants involved; all sources are open-access state or official military websites and archived media). The corpus is stratified diachronically to capture evolution:\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEarly phase (2022\u0026ndash;early 2023)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMaterials reflecting broad mobilisation via Territorial Recruitment Centers (TCCs) and initial brigade-level campaigns. Key examples include\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Descriptions of TCC processes from contemporaneous journalistic accounts (e.g., generic summons, street checks, minimal training assignment).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Third Separate Assault Brigade campaigns: posters and social-media posts (e.g., April 2023 \u0026ldquo;Join the decisive battle\u0026rdquo; billboard showing advancing soldiers in scorched landscapes; November 2023 zombie-themed imagery symbolising existential threat). These were disseminated via brigade Facebook and Instagram accounts, with archived examples still accessible.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003c/ul\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLater phase (2024\u0026ndash;2025)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eInstitutional portals and linked vacancy platforms\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; recruiting.mod.gov.ua (launched February 2024): homepage text, news sections, anonymity guarantees, applicant statistics framing, and procedural descriptions.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; army.gov.ua: contract categories (\u0026ldquo;Обери свій шлях\u0026rdquo; / \u0026ldquo;Choose Your Path\u0026rdquo;), benefits paragraphs, youth/drone/specialist appeals.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; legion.army.gov.ua (launched October 2024): diaspora-focused slogans (\u0026ldquo;БУДЬ СОБОЮ\u0026rdquo; / \u0026ldquo;Be Yourself\u0026rdquo;), eligibility inclusivity, high-salary/NATO-training framing.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Linked external boards (e.g., lobbyx.army, defence.robota.ua): sample vacancy postings emphasising skill-matching and unit choice.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe sample comprises 52 textual units (slogans, paragraphs, eligibility statements) and 13 visual items (posters, banners, social-media screenshots). Materials were collected via systematic keyword searches (e.g., \u0026ldquo;приєднуйся до ЗСУ\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;join UA army\u0026rdquo;, brigade names + \u0026ldquo;recruitment\u0026rdquo;) on official sites, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, with date-stamping for temporal analysis. Archival tools (e.g., Wayback Machine where available) and persistent URLs ensure traceability.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAnalytical Procedure\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnalysis proceeded in iterative stages:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eInitial coding\u003c/em\u003e: Inductive thematic coding identified recurring motifs (e.g., sacrifice vs. choice, collective vs. individual agency, patriotic urgency vs. merit-based inclusion). Manual coding tables tracked patterns across phases.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2.\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eDiscourse strategies\u003c/em\u003e: Guided by Wodak\u0026rsquo;s discursive strategies (nomination, predication, argumentation, perspectivisation, intensification/mitigation) and van Dijk\u0026rsquo;s socio-cognitive approach, texts were examined for:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Pronoun use (\u0026ldquo;we\u0026rdquo;/\u0026ldquo;you\u0026rdquo; to construct belonging or direct address).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Modality (high-urgency imperatives in early phase vs. enabling conditionals later).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Framing (existential threat metaphors vs. empowerment/opportunity).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eSemiotic analysis\u003c/em\u003e: Visuals were read multimodally\u0026mdash;vectorial composition (gaze, vectors directing viewer attention), colour (national blue/yellow vs. apocalyptic dark tones), and symbolic elements (zombies as dehumanised enemy; drones/laptops as modern professionalism).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4.\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eDiachronic comparison\u003c/em\u003e: Themes were contrasted across phases to map shifts in imagined audiences (from undifferentiated patriotic defenders to segmented skilled/domestic/diaspora volunteers).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5.\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eReflexivity and rigour\u003c/em\u003e: As desk-based analysis of public discourse, no formal ethical approval was required. Transparency is maintained through direct quotation, source citation, and acknowledgment of potential researcher positioning (as analyst of Ukrainian wartime communication). Saturation was achieved when additional items reiterated established patterns.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eLimitations\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe corpus is limited to official, publicly accessible materials; unofficial or deleted brigade posts may be underrepresented. Focus on Ukrainian-language originals (with English translations for accessibility) privileges state-sanctioned discourse over grassroots perceptions. Future work could incorporate audience reception studies.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Findings","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe analysis reveals a marked diachronic shift in Ukrainian military recruitment discourse from 2022 to 2025, moving from broad, existential-defence framing to targeted, professional-opportunity appeals. This evolution reflects institutional adaptations to prolonged conflict, manpower sustainability needs, and efforts to modernise the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU). The section organises findings by phase, supported by textual excerpts, rhetorical patterns, semiotic observations, and additional examples from the corpus. All data derive from publicly accessible sources (cited inline; full references at manuscript end).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEarly Phase: Existential Defence and Undifferentiated Patriotic Defenders (2022\u0026ndash;Early 2023)\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecruitment relied primarily on Territorial Recruitment Centers (TCCs) for compulsory mobilisation, supplemented by emerging brigade-level campaigns from spring 2023. Discourse constructed an imagined audience of homogeneous able-bodied citizens (mainly men aged 18\u0026ndash;60) as immediate, sacrificial defenders facing national annihilation. Rhetorical strategies featured high-urgency imperatives, collective nomination, and apocalyptic semiotics, with no emphasis on individual choice, anonymity, skill-matching, or long-term benefits.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026bull; TCC and generic mobilisation framing\u003c/em\u003e: Processes involved street checks, public summons, and forced transport, framed as obligatory patriotic duty. No online portals existed; appeals used collective imperatives (e.g., inferred from contemporaneous reports: \u0026ldquo;Всі на захист!\u0026rdquo; / \u0026ldquo;Everyone to defence!\u0026rdquo;) and national symbols (trident, trenches). Power was enacted through state coercion; belonging derived from compelled solidarity against existential threat.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026bull; Brigade-level campaigns (Third Separate Assault Brigade as key exemplar)\u003c/em\u003e:\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; April 2023 \u0026ldquo;Join the decisive battle\u0026rdquo; poster (New York Times, 2025): Depicted armour-clad soldiers advancing across a scorched-earth battlefield with helicopter and drone support. Dark, desaturated palette with fire accents symbolised devastation; forward vectors created momentum and urgency. Slogan: \u0026ldquo;Приєднуйся до вирішальної битви\u0026rdquo; (\u0026ldquo;Join the decisive battle\u0026rdquo;). Direct address and high-modality predication positioned enlistment as the pivotal act in repelling invasion. Imagined audience: every capable citizen required for collective survival ahead of the anticipated counteroffensive.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; November 2023 zombie-themed campaign (New York Times, 2025; brigade Facebook archive): Ukrainian fighters confronted advancing zombie hordes (rotting, mindless figures symbolising Russian troops as \u0026ldquo;brainwashed\u0026rdquo; invaders). Apocalyptic background (ruins, dark skies); high-contrast heroism vs. dehumanised evil. Variations: \u0026ldquo;Fight in the Third Assault\u0026rdquo;; implied \u0026ldquo;if you don\u0026rsquo;t fight now, darkness will prevail.\u0026rdquo; Quote from brigade media head: emphasis on preventing civilisational collapse. Horror-genre framing intensified existential stakes. Disseminated via Facebook/Instagram posts and shares (e.g., archived photo: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=847960311552116\u0026amp;set=a.102349639446524\u0026amp;type=3). Imagined audience: broad patriots halting mindless evil through sacrifice.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026bull; Additional early visuals\u003c/em\u003e: Generic TCC-era billboards (2022\u0026ndash;early 2023) featured national trident, soldiers in trenches, and patriotic blue/yellow palette with static heroic poses (no individualisation; collective duty symbols).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEarly discourse employed intensification (threat metaphors, urgent calls) and perspectivisation (righteous \u0026ldquo;us\u0026rdquo; vs. existential \u0026ldquo;them\u0026rdquo;), reproducing primordial nationalism and coerced belonging.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eLater Phase: Professional Opportunity and Segmented Audiences (2024\u0026ndash;2025)\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDedicated portals (recruiting.mod.gov.ua launched February 2024; legion.army.gov.ua October 2024) and linked vacancy platforms reframed service as voluntary, merit-based, and empowering. Imagined audiences segmented into skilled domestic civilians, youth, technical specialists, and diaspora Ukrainians. Strategies shifted to mitigation (anonymity, accompaniment), enablement (choice, skills), and positive predication (inclusion, community).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026bull; Domestic core audience (recruiting.mod.gov.ua and army.gov.ua)\u003c/em\u003e:\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Anonymity guarantee: \u0026ldquo;Центр рекрутингу гарантує Вашу цілковиту анонімність та не співпрацює з ТЦК\u0026rdquo; (\u0026ldquo;The Recruiting Center guarantees your complete anonymity and does not cooperate with TCC\u0026rdquo;) (recruiting.mod.gov.ua, n.d./accessed 2026).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Accompaniment: \u0026ldquo;Наші рекрутери/ки \u0026hellip; допоможуть \u0026hellip; обрати військову частину \u0026hellip; та супроводжуватимуть на шляху до призначення на посаду\u0026rdquo; (\u0026ldquo;Our recruiters \u0026hellip; will help \u0026hellip; choose a military unit \u0026hellip; and accompany you on the path to appointment\u0026rdquo;) (recruiting.mod.gov.ua).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Youth/specialist contracts: \u0026ldquo;Добровільна служба для молоді з чітким терміном служби, значними виплатами та соціальними гарантіями\u0026rdquo; (\u0026ldquo;Voluntary service for youth with a clear service term, significant payments, and social guarantees\u0026rdquo;); \u0026ldquo;Служба у найефективніших підрозділах безпілотних систем\u0026rdquo; (\u0026ldquo;Service in the most effective unmanned systems units\u0026rdquo;) (army.gov.ua, n.d./accessed 2026).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Slogans: \u0026ldquo;Обери свій шлях\u0026rdquo; (\u0026ldquo;Choose Your Path\u0026rdquo;); \u0026ldquo;Служи із тими, хто цінує кожного\u0026rdquo; (\u0026ldquo;Serve with those who value everyone\u0026rdquo;). Imagined audience: rational, aspirational individuals (youth, women, tech-skilled) seeking meritocratic entry.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026bull; Diaspora/transnational audience (legion.army.gov.ua)\u003c/em\u003e:\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Core slogan: \u0026ldquo;БУДЬ СОБОЮ\u0026rdquo; (\u0026ldquo;Be Yourself\u0026rdquo;).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Inclusivity: \u0026ldquo;Обставини виїзду з України не мають значення. Важливим є бажання виконувати завдання і брати участь у спільній місії\u0026rdquo; (\u0026ldquo;The circumstances of leaving Ukraine do not matter. What is important is the desire to perform tasks and participate in the common mission\u0026rdquo;).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Community framing: \u0026ldquo;Служба в Українському легіоні \u0026ndash; це унікальна можливість стати частиною об\u0026rsquo;єднаної військової спільноти українців\u0026rdquo; (\u0026ldquo;Service in the Ukrainian Legion is a unique opportunity to become part of the united military community of Ukrainians\u0026rdquo;) (legion.army.gov.ua, n.d./accessed 2026).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Imagined audience: empowered Ukrainians abroad joining voluntarily on personal terms.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026bull; Visual and multimodal shifts\u003c/em\u003e: Portals adopted clean, minimalist layouts (blue/yellow palette, procedural icons, no combat horror). Linked campaigns emphasised modern tools (drones, laptops) and lifestyle.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe semiotic and multimodal shifts across the two phases are summarised in Table\u0026nbsp;1.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eVisual Description Table (Semiotic Excerpt)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePhase\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSource / Campaign\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eVisual Description\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eKey Semiotic Elements\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eImagined Audience Effect\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEarly (2023)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThird Assault Brigade \u0026ndash; \u0026ldquo;Join the decisive battle\u0026rdquo; (April)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eArmoured soldiers advancing across scorched battlefield; helicopters/drones overhead; dark desaturated palette with fire accents (New York Times, 2025)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eForward vectors (urgency/momentum); apocalyptic tones; heroic figures\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eUrgent collective defenders for survival\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEarly (2023)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThird Assault Brigade \u0026ndash; Zombie campaign (November)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSoldiers firing at zombie hordes (rotting monsters); ruins/dark skies; high-contrast heroism vs. evil (New York Times, 2025; brigade Facebook archive)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDehumanised \u0026ldquo;other\u0026rdquo; (zombies); horror framing; symbolic civilisational threat\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSacrificial patriots halting apocalypse\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEarly (2022\u0026ndash;2023)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGeneric TCC-era billboards\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNational trident, trench soldiers; bright patriotic blue/yellow; static heroic poses\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCollective national symbols; no personalisation\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eUndifferentiated duty-bound citizens\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLater (2024\u0026ndash;2026)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003erecruiting.mod.gov.ua homepage\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eText-heavy institutional layout; modern procedural icons (no combat imagery)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMinimalist design; blue/yellow; enabling icons\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRational civilians seeking guided, safe entry\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLater (2024\u0026ndash;2026)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003earmy.gov.ua contract tiles\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCategory cards with drone/laptop icons, youth silhouettes\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTech/aspirational imagery; structured, modern layout\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSkilled youth/specialists choosing merit roles\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLater (2024\u0026ndash;2026)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003elegion.army.gov.ua homepage\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCommunity text blocks; subtle Ukrainian symbols; prominent application form\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEmpowerment prominence; no threat elements\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEmpowered diaspora joining unified community\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eComparative Patterns\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Audience: From broad collective to segmented (skilled/domestic/diaspora).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Power: From coercive to facilitative.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Framing: Nationalism from sacrificial to civic/professional; belonging from compelled to chosen.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Semiotics: Apocalyptic intensity to aspirational minimalism.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThese patterns indicate military culture\u0026rsquo;s shift toward professionalisation and inclusion for long-term sustainability.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe findings demonstrate a profound transformation in Ukrainian military recruitment discourse between 2022 and 2025, one that aligns closely with the theoretical frameworks outlined in the introduction. Through the lens of \u003cem\u003eimagined audiences\u003c/em\u003e (Marwick \u0026amp; Boyd, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Litt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e), the shift from an undifferentiated, existentially threatened collective to segmented, agentic, and professionally oriented publics reveals how communicators adapt rhetorical strategies to changing socio-political and military realities. Early discourse addressed a broad, homogeneous \u0026ldquo;nation-in-arms,\u0026rdquo; employing apocalyptic semiotics and sacrificial appeals to mobilise mass participation under conditions of acute existential threat. Later materials, by contrast, construct multiple distinct audiences\u0026mdash;skilled domestic youth, technical specialists, and diaspora volunteers\u0026mdash;through enabling language, anonymity assurances, and meritocratic promises, thereby reframing military service as a voluntary, individualised choice rather than an inescapable national duty.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis evolution can be interpreted as a discursive response to the prolonged nature of the conflict. In the initial phase (2022\u0026ndash;early 2023), the combination of rapid territorial losses, massive mobilisation requirements, and widespread societal solidarity made high-intensity, collective framing effective for generating immediate enlistment. The zombie metaphor and \u0026ldquo;decisive battle\u0026rdquo; imagery, for instance, functioned as powerful argumentative devices (van Dijk, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) that intensified perceived threat and legitimated urgent action, while simultaneously reinforcing a primordial nationalist identity rooted in collective sacrifice (Wodak, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). The imagined audience here was not invited to negotiate terms of service but compelled to participate in a civilisational struggle\u0026mdash;a construction consistent with wartime propaganda patterns observed in other historical contexts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy 2024\u0026ndash;2025, however, sustained attrition, war fatigue, public criticism of coercive TCC practices, and the need for sustainable, specialised manpower necessitated a different approach. The introduction of dedicated recruitment portals and the explicit rejection of TCC cooperation signalled a deliberate move toward \u003cem\u003eprofessionalisation\u003c/em\u003e (Huntington, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1957\u003c/span\u003e; King, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). Slogans such as \u0026ldquo;Обери свій шлях\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;БУДЬ СОБОЮ\u0026rdquo; perform perspectivisation and predication work that positions the state as a facilitative partner rather than an authoritarian enforcer. Anonymity guarantees and skill-matching appeals mitigate perceptions of coercion, while NATO-standard training, high salaries, and inclusive language construct belonging through chosen community and individual agency rather than imposed obligation. This reframing echoes Huntington\u0026rsquo;s model of objective civilian control via professional autonomy, albeit adapted to a democratic wartime context where legitimacy depends on public consent.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTheoretically, these shifts highlight the plasticity of imagined audiences in institutional crisis communication. Whereas early discourse collapsed context into a singular, high-stakes national audience (Marwick \u0026amp; Boyd, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e), later materials strategically segment publics to address diverse motivations\u0026mdash;patriotism for some, career development for others, diasporic reconnection for those abroad. This segmentation performs important ideological work: it softens tensions between wartime exigency and liberal-democratic values (choice, inclusion, merit), while still preserving nationalism as a core organising principle, now recast in civic and professional terms rather than purely sacrificial ones.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings also speak directly to the themes of \u003cem\u003ecultures of command\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eidentity\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003epower\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003ebelonging\u003c/em\u003e in global militaries. The Ukrainian case illustrates how recruitment discourse serves as a key mechanism of military socialisation (King, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e), moulding not only recruits but also broader societal perceptions of the armed forces. The move from coercive mobilisation to voluntary professional entry reflects an attempt to build a more resilient, inclusive military culture capable of long-term endurance\u0026mdash;one that values expertise and personal investment over sheer numbers. At the same time, the persistence of nationalist appeals (albeit softened) underscores the enduring role of collective identity in sustaining cohesion under existential pressure.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSeveral implications emerge. First, the evolution suggests that wartime militaries in democratic societies may increasingly rely on persuasive, segmented communication to maintain legitimacy and effectiveness when compulsory models become politically costly or demographically unsustainable. Second, the Ukrainian experience offers comparative insight for other conflict-affected states: professionalisation of recruitment discourse can enhance inclusion (e.g., women, diaspora, technical specialists) and civil-military trust, but risks commodifying service in ways that dilute traditional notions of sacrifice and duty. Finally, the study underscores the value of diachronic discourse analysis for capturing institutional adaptation in real time, particularly in contexts where rapid change outpaces conventional scholarship.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLimitations notwithstanding\u0026mdash;the focus on official texts excludes unofficial or oppositional voices, and desk-based analysis cannot capture audience reception\u0026mdash;the findings provide robust evidence of discursive transformation with clear relevance to military culture, nationalism, and belonging in contemporary armed forces.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study has traced the evolution of imagined audiences in Ukrainian military recruitment discourse from the onset of Russia\u0026rsquo;s full-scale invasion in 2022 through 2025. The analysis demonstrates a clear trajectory: early messaging (2022\u0026ndash;early 2023) constructed a broad, undifferentiated collective of patriotic defenders facing existential threat, employing sacrificial urgency, apocalyptic semiotics, and collective imperatives to mobilise society under acute crisis conditions. By 2024\u0026ndash;2025, institutional portals and targeted campaigns reframed service as voluntary professional opportunity, segmenting audiences into skilled domestic youth, technical specialists, and diaspora Ukrainians, and emphasising individual choice, anonymity, skill alignment, advanced training, inclusion, and chosen belonging.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese discursive shifts are not merely communicative adjustments; they reflect deeper transformations in military culture and civil-military relations. The move from coercive, mass-mobilisation rhetoric to meritocratic, facilitative appeals signals an attempt to build a more sustainable, professionalised armed force capable of long-term endurance amid prolonged war. It negotiates the tension between wartime exigency\u0026mdash;requiring rapid, widespread participation\u0026mdash;and democratic-liberal values of agency, inclusion, and consent. Nationalism persists as a core organising principle, but is rearticulated from primordial sacrifice to civic contribution and personal investment within a modern institution.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTheoretically, the findings affirm the utility of \u003cem\u003eimagined audiences\u003c/em\u003e as a lens for understanding institutional messaging in high-stakes contexts (Marwick \u0026amp; Boyd, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Litt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). They illustrate how communicators strategically segment and reconfigure publics to align diverse motivations with collective defence needs, while also highlighting the interplay between discourse, power, and identity formation in military socialisation (King, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Huntington, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1957\u003c/span\u003e). Critical discourse analysis further reveals how rhetorical and semiotic choices legitimate changing modes of control\u0026mdash;from overt coercion to subtle enablement\u0026mdash;and reproduce or challenge societal norms around belonging and duty.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Ukrainian case holds comparative relevance beyond its specific context. It exemplifies how democratic militaries under existential pressure may adapt recruitment communication to maintain legitimacy, enhance inclusion (women, diaspora, skilled civilians), and foster trust when traditional compulsory models become politically or demographically strained. At the same time, the transition risks diluting traditional notions of collective sacrifice in favour of individualised, career-oriented framing\u0026mdash;a tension that merits further cross-national investigation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFuture research could extend this work in several directions: (1) audience reception studies to examine how different publics interpret and respond to these evolving appeals; (2) comparative analyses with other conflict-affected or professionalising militaries (e.g., Israel, Finland, or post-Soviet states); (3) longitudinal tracking of discourse beyond 2025 to assess post-war trajectories; and (4) multimodal investigations incorporating video campaigns and social-media engagement metrics.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUltimately, this analysis contributes to the exploration of \u003cem\u003ecultures of command\u003c/em\u003e by showing how recruitment discourse functions as a primary site for negotiating identity, power, professionalism, nationalism, and belonging in contemporary armed forces. In doing so, it underscores the dynamic, adaptive role of communication in sustaining military institutions\u0026mdash;and the societies they defend\u0026mdash;under conditions of prolonged existential challenge.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEthical approval:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eInformed consent:\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eOleh Ivanov: conceptualization, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, writing\u0026mdash;original draft, review and editing.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data analysed in this study are publicly available online from the following sources (all accessed between February and March 2026):Ukrainian Army Recruitment Center portal: https://recruiting.mod.gov.ua/Armed Forces of Ukraine main portal: https://army.gov.ua/Ukrainian Legion portal: https://legion.army.gov.ua/New York Times interactive feature containing early-phase recruitment campaign visuals and posters: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/02/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-recruitment-campaign.htmlThird Assault Brigade Facebook archive example (November 2023 zombie campaign billboard): https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=847960311552116\u0026amp;amp;set=a.102349639446524\u0026amp;amp;type=3No new datasets were generated or analysed during the study. The full corpus of 52 textual units and 13 visual items is directly accessible via the persistent public URLs listed above.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBarthes R (1977) Image-Music-Text. Fontana\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFairclough N, Wodak R (1997) Critical discourse analysis. In: van Dijk TA (ed) Discourse as social interaction. Sage, pp 258\u0026ndash;284\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHuntington SP (1957) The soldier and the state: The theory and politics of civil-military relations. Belknap Press of Harvard University\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKing A (2011) The transformation of Europe\u0026rsquo;s armed forces: From the Rhine to Afghanistan. Cambridge University Press\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKochkina N (2025) Wartime transformation of advertising discourse in Ukraine: a cultural perspective on civilian soft power. J Contemp Cent East Europe 33(3):559\u0026ndash;582. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1080/25739638.2025.2559385\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1080/25739638.2025.2559385\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKress G, van Leeuwen T (2006) Reading images: The grammar of visual design, 2nd edn. Routledge\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLitt E (2012) Knock, knock. Who\u0026rsquo;s there? The imagined audience. 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Sage, pp 63\u0026ndash;94\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"imagined audiences, military recruitment discourse, Ukrainian Armed Forces, military culture, nationalism, professionalism, belonging, civil-military relations","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9187966/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9187966/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSince Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have adapted recruitment communication amid shifting wartime demands and institutional reforms. Grounded in theories of \u003cb\u003eimagined audiences\u003c/b\u003e\u0026mdash;the publics rhetorically constructed by communicators through language, imagery, and appeals\u0026mdash;this study traces how official discourse reconfigures target publics over time, from broad existential defence framing to targeted professional opportunity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe analysis draws on qualitative discourse and semiotic approaches to publicly available materials, including early Territorial Recruitment Center mobilisation practices, initial brigade-level campaigns, and subsequent institutional recruitment portals. Early discourse positioned recruits as an undifferentiated collective of patriotic defenders facing immediate civilisational threat, employing sacrificial urgency and apocalyptic semiotics to mobilise mass participation. Later materials, reflecting professionalisation efforts, segment audiences into skilled domestic civilians, youth seeking merit-based roles, and diaspora Ukrainians as empowered volunteers, emphasising individual choice, anonymity, skill alignment, advanced training standards, and inclusive belonging.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese shifts illuminate broader dynamics in military culture: recruitment communication moves from coercive, nationalism-driven socialisation toward a meritocratic institution that fosters belonging through agency, professionalism, and community integration. The evolution highlights tensions between wartime exigency and long-term identity construction, revealing how armed forces negotiate power, inclusion, and societal relations in discourse. The findings advance understanding of imagined audiences in high-stakes institutional messaging and contribute to interdisciplinary scholarship on military identity, nationalism, professionalism, and belonging in global contexts under existential pressure.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"From Existential Defence to Professional Opportunity: Evolving Imagined Audiences in Ukrainian Military Recruitment Discourse (2022–2025)","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-17 19:40:41","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9187966/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"106476485578604497739749816049334105365","date":"2026-05-07T08:53:45+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-03T09:02:56+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"135839751481642866857557467413309062738","date":"2026-04-09T13:57:38+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-09T08:23:16+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-04-08T12:17:40+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-05T17:12:07+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","date":"2026-04-05T17:07:35+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"0d230b29-f5fc-4c01-997e-c2c2daaed3c8","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 17th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"106476485578604497739749816049334105365","date":"2026-05-07T08:53:45+00:00","index":40,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-03T09:02:56+00:00","index":35,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":66349453,"name":"Humanities/Cultural and media studies"},{"id":66349454,"name":"Social science/Cultural and media studies"},{"id":66349455,"name":"Humanities/Language and linguistics"},{"id":66349456,"name":"Social science/Language and linguistics"},{"id":66349457,"name":"Humanities/Literature"},{"id":66349458,"name":"Social science/Politics and international relations"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-17T19:40:41+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-17 19:40:41","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9187966","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9187966","identity":"rs-9187966","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}