The SSU and the National Police have uncovered six schemes to evade mobilisation in various regions
The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police have announced that they have dismantled six schemes designed to evade mobilisation and have arrested their organisers. According to law enforcement officials, in exchange for sums ranging from 2,000 to 20,000 US dollars, the suspects offered conscripts the chance to avoid conscription using forged documents or organised illegal travel abroad via routes bypassing official border crossing points.
In Zakarpattia, the SBU’s military counter-intelligence unit, in conjunction with the State Border Guard Service, detained the organiser of a smuggling route to the European Union. According to the case file, he organised the transport of conscripts in a convoy. A driver travelled ahead to check for checkpoints, followed by a vehicle carrying the clients. If checkpoints were detected, the passengers were dropped off and given maps showing alternative routes. The man was detained in the Rakhiv district whilst transporting three people towards the state border.
In the Lviv region, a psychiatrist from the central hospital was detained for offering to arrange a Group III disability status in exchange for money. To this end, he promised to influence acquaintances on the expert panel responsible for assessing a person’s daily functioning.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, a man was exposed for selling fake medical commission reports declaring individuals unfit for service. According to the investigation, he offered conscripts assistance in forging medical documents, with the aim of subsequently transferring them to rear units.
In the Odesa region, three employees of an emergency medical centre were detained for transporting draft dodgers to the unrecognised Transnistria region in an ambulance. Law enforcement officers detained them whilst they were transporting a man who had been disguised as a paramedic. A local farmer in the region has also come under suspicion for organising the smuggling of conscripts past checkpoints. According to the investigation, a transporter was involved in the scheme, delivering people to border settlements, after which they crossed the border on foot.
In Vinnytsia, a resident of the capital was detained for organising an illegal migration route across the Dniester River. According to the investigation, he ferried people across to the neighbouring country by swimming.
The suspects have been notified of charges under articles relating to the illegal smuggling of persons across Ukraine’s state border and abuse of influence. The penalties carry a sentence of up to nine years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The case was led by the Svyatoshyn District Prosecutor’s Office of Kyiv, the Nikopol District Prosecutor’s Office, the Lviv and Vinnytsia Regional Prosecutor’s Offices, and the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office for Defence in the Southern Region.
