The SSU and the National Police have uncovered 12 new schemes to evade mobilisation in various regions of Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine, in conjunction with the National Police, has reported the uncovering of twelve new schemes to evade mobilisation in various regions of the country. According to the investigation, the organisers offered those liable for military service the chance to avoid conscription in return for payments ranging from 1 to 33 thousand US dollars. To do this, they used forged documents or organised the illegal crossing of the state border outside official checkpoints.
In the Chernivtsi region, the head of a border guard detachment was arrested. According to the investigation, he organised a channel for the illegal smuggling of conscripts to European Union countries, bypassing border crossing points. Law enforcement officials also claim that this route was used to smuggle tobacco products into neighbouring EU states.
In the Kharkiv region, four medical staff members were exposed; they are suspected of unjustifiably admitting conscripts for inpatient treatment and issuing fictitious certificates of disability in the second and third categories. The suspects include the head of the internal medicine department, a neurologist, an ophthalmologist and a GP.
In the Poltava region, three doctors have been notified of the allegations against them. According to the investigation, a general practitioner who headed the military medical commission, an ENT specialist and a doctor of physical and rehabilitation medicine issued false medical certificates to secure deferrals from mobilisation. In addition, in the same region, the commander of a repair battalion has been placed under suspicion; according to law enforcement officials, he accepted bribes to cover up instances of his subordinates deserting their posts without authorisation.
In the Zhytomyr region, the head of one of the units at the district territorial centre for recruitment and social support was exposed. According to the investigation, he removed conscripts from electronic wanted lists in exchange for bribes and ensured they could temporarily avoid mobilisation.
In the Kirovohrad region, a man was detained who, according to the investigation, used his contacts at the regional road administration to arrange for conscripts to be registered as employed at a state institution. He also offered to install a fake version of the ‘Reserve+’ app, which stated that the client had been granted a deferment due to working at a critical enterprise.
In Zakarpattia, law enforcement officers exposed the deputy head of a border guard department. According to the investigation, he organised the illegal smuggling of conscripts to European Union countries via routes bypassing official border crossing points, planned the routes and coordinated their movements by telephone. In addition, a deserter and an acquaintance were detained in the region; they are suspected of transporting conscripts to a forested area near the border for the purpose of subsequently crossing the border illegally.
In the Vinnytsia region, a tow-truck driver was caught who, according to the investigation, had attempted to secretly transport a group of conscripts across the border in towed vehicles. Also in Vinnytsia, a businessman was detained who had promised to arrange disability status through a fictitious hospitalisation, with the involvement of officials he knew at the Eastern Regional Pension Fund. Separately, it has been reported that another man was detained who, in exchange for money, had promised to help a conscript leave the territorial recruitment centre, citing his own connections.
In Zaporizhzhia, law enforcement officers exposed a conscripted serviceman who, according to the investigation, arranged fictitious employment for conscripts at one of the defence enterprises in return for payment. According to law enforcement officials, this was intended to serve as grounds for booking travel and subsequently leaving the country under the guise of a business trip.
All those involved have been notified of the charges against them in relation to the alleged offences. If found guilty, they face up to ten years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property.
