Two border guard officers have been detained by Ukrainian officals after a gang reportedly charged men $15,000 dollars each to get them out of the country to dodge the military draft.
National Police of Ukraine shared in a Telegram post that the group helped about 30 people leave Ukraine, which has imposed a ban on most men aged between 18 and 60 leaving the country following Russia’s invasion.
The group allegedly did this by listing them as disabled.
The prosecutor general’s office said in a separate Telegram post how the scheme was started by a border guard officer and a businessman in Ukraine’s western Zakarpattia region, who then recruited a second border guard and other accomplices.
Law enforcement agencies published photos of the detention of some of the suspects at their homes, showing large quantities of euro banknotes, multiple mobile phones, and luxury SUVs.
Many Ukrainians have volunteered to fight in the more than three-year-old war but hundreds of thousands of men have been compulsorily drafted into the military.
Ukrainian officials say they are now facing widespread attempts to avoid the draft.
Under Ukraine’s mobilisation law, which came into effect in May 2024, Ukrainian men must join the military effort and and face the possibility of being sent to the frontlines. If they try to evade conscription, men risk penalties and condemnation.
