Law enforcement officers have uncovered eight schemes to evade conscription in various regions of Ukraine
The Security Service, the State Bureau of Investigations and the National Police have reported the uncovering of eight schemes to evade mobilisation in various regions of Ukraine. According to the investigation, in exchange for payments of up to 25,000 US dollars, the suspects offered to produce forged documents or assist in the illegal crossing of the state border.
In the Kyiv and Rivne regions, two individuals were exposed who had organised the arrangement of fictitious inpatient treatment to subsequently obtain certificates of serious illness, including the establishment of second and third-degree disability. An intermediary and seven doctors of various specialities from the western region of Ukraine were involved in carrying out the scheme.
In the Boryspil district, a commercial bank driver was detained for organising the transport of conscripts to the western border. According to the investigation, under the guise of business trips, he transported people and provided information on routes for crossing the border outside official checkpoints.
In the Poltava region, a lawyer has been placed under suspicion; according to the investigation, she used her personal connections to unjustifiably remove conscripts from the register on health grounds. A local resident was also detained in the region for offering employment at a critical infrastructure enterprise with subsequent registration of military service deferrals.
In the Lviv region, the head of a military unit’s medical service was exposed for forging medical commission reports declaring individuals unfit for service. Along with her, nine people who had used these services were placed under suspicion.
In Zaporizhzhia, a contract soldier and his accomplice were exposed for organising the transport of conscripts to the south-western border outside of checkpoints.
In Zakarpattia Oblast, two border guards were detained on suspicion of allowing vehicles carrying conscripts to pass through checkpoints in exchange for bribes.
In the Kharkiv region, a former head of a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts was exposed for offering to facilitate travel to the EU via the border with Belarus.
The suspects have been notified of charges under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including obstruction of the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, illegal smuggling of persons across the state border, forgery of documents, abuse of influence and other offences.
The offences carry a maximum sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
