Ukrainian Border Service Reports 67,000 Detained Draft Evaders Since February 2022

Ukrainian border guards have detained around 67,000 draft evaders attempting to illegally leave the country since February 2022, State Border Service Spokesman Andrey Demchenko said.

"A total of 67,000 people have been detained at the border since February 2022. About 36,000 were captured along the green border, 27,000 at control posts, and another 4,000 at crossing points, trying to use forged documents to exit the country," he noted, as cited by the Ukrinform news agency.

According to Demchenko, humorous incidents involving draft dodgers attempting to flee Ukraine sometimes occur at the border. "One man was disguised as a woman. <...> I particularly remember one case <...> where a man tried to cross into Moldova and was confronted by wild animals. He encountered wolves and had to climb a tree to save his life," the official added, noting that border guards rescued the man from the tree.

General mobilization in Ukraine was announced in February 2022 and has been extended several times. On May 18, 2024, the law on toughening mobilization came into effect, allowing the authorities to call hundreds of thousands more men into service. Authorities are taking extensive measures to prevent draft-age men from evading military service. Videos of forced recruitment appear almost daily on social media, showing draft officers seizing men in streets, cafes, gyms, and other public places, and loading them into minivans. Men attempt all sorts of measures to avoid front-line service, including purchasing fake disability certificates, enrolling fictitiously in universities, or trying to cross the border illegally, often risking their lives.