30 lost their lives

Ukrainians try to escape military service every day

In Ukraine, men are trying to escape conscription into the army every day. "There are attempts to cross the border illegally every day," said a spokesperson on Monday evening. Around 30 Ukrainians have died in the process since the start of the war in 2022.

According to the border guard, 24 men alone died trying to cross the Tisa River on the Ukrainian border with Romania. "Most of these attempts take place outside the border checkpoints on the border with Moldova and Romania. The largest number with forged documents is recorded at the border with Poland," said spokesman Andriy Demchenko.

450 criminal groups uncovered
Since the beginning of the war, the Border Guard says it has uncovered around 450 criminal groups trying to smuggle people across the border. With a few exceptions, Ukrainians between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country, as they could be conscripted to fight against Russian troops under the current martial law. At the beginning of April, Demchenko announced that an average of ten men a day were stopped trying to leave the country illegally.

20,000 have actually fled
The BBC reported in November that almost 20,000 men had fled Ukraine since the start of the war to avoid conscription. It referred to data on illegal border crossings from Romania, Moldova, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.

Although there is a shortage of soldiers in the defense against the Russian invasion, there are currently no plans to forcibly call up men of conscription age from abroad. "There will be no restrictions and no forced return of Ukrainian citizens of any gender or age to a country at war," said Olha Stefanishyna, the deputy head of government responsible for EU integration, on Tuesday.

There will be no restrictions and no forced return of Ukrainian citizens of any gender or age to a country at war.

Ukraines Vizeregierungschefin Olha Stefanischyna

No new travel documents for those who have fled
The army is currently having increasing problems recruiting new forces (see video above). Last week, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry therefore banned the issuing of new travel documents to conscripts abroad. Passports that have already been issued will no longer be handed out.

A law that comes into force on May 18 also obliges all conscripts to renew their data in the register within two months. Anyone who is abroad must present a military passport in order to make use of consular services. Those who are not registered can only obtain documents for the purpose of returning home. Representatives of Poland and Lithuania had also announced that they would make living conditions more difficult for Ukrainians serving in the army so that they would return to the country at war.