Ukraine Security Service exposes multiple mobilisation evasion schemes PHOTO

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), together with the State Bureau of Investigation and the National Police, has blocked eight new schemes to evade military mobilisation and detained the organisers across different regions of the country.

The agency said individuals involved allegedly offered military-age men ways to avoid conscription for up to $25,000, including forged documents or assistance in leaving the country outside official border checkpoints, Caliber.Az reports.

In the Kyiv and Rivne regions, two individuals were identified who allegedly arranged for draft-age men to be falsely admitted to inpatient treatment to obtain medical certificates diagnosing serious illnesses, including disability groups 2 and 3.

The scheme reportedly involved a mediator and seven doctors from western Ukraine.

In the Boryspil district, authorities detained a bank employee accused of organising the “transfer” of conscripts out of Ukraine.

Under the guise of business trips, he allegedly transported clients to the western border and instructed them on routes through forest paths.

In the Poltava region, a local lawyer was served a notice of suspicion for allegedly removing individuals from military registration on unfounded health grounds.

Another resident was detained for offering jobs at a critical infrastructure enterprise in exchange for deferred mobilisation.

In the Lviv region, the head of a military medical unit was accused of falsifying medical commission decisions declaring individuals unfit for service due to “serious diagnoses.”

Nine draft-age men who allegedly used her services were also charged.

In the Zaporizhzhia region, a serviceman and his accomplice were exposed for allegedly using an official vehicle to transport draft evaders to the southwestern border outside official checkpoints.

In the Zakarpattia region, two border guards were detained after allegedly accepting bribes to allow two vehicles carrying draft evaders through checkpoints.

In the Kharkiv region, a former head of a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts was identified for allegedly offering escape routes to the EU via the Belarus border.

All suspects have been formally notified of suspicion under various articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

If convicted, they face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov