Ukrainian authorities bust draft evasion operation in Armed Forces hospital photo

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), working jointly with the Office of the Prosecutor General and with the support of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has uncovered and shut down a mobilisation evasion scheme operating within the Main Military Clinical Hospital of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

A high-ranking official from the hospital’s Centre for the Organisation of Security and Defence of Medical Facilities has been detained.

According to the investigation, the official arranged for acquaintances to be formally assigned to his unit despite the fact that they did not report for duty or carry out any official responsibilities. Among those registered were men of conscription age who were seeking to avoid mobilisation. Although they were officially listed as servicemen after enrollment, they did not actually serve.

Investigators determined that the salary payments allocated to these individuals were deposited onto bank cards that remained in the possession of the detained official. He allegedly withdrew the funds and appropriated them for personal use. Since May 2022, the scheme is believed to have brought him approximately 2.6 million hryvnias (around $60,000) in незаконно obtained income.

During searches conducted as part of the case, law enforcement officers seized cash and documentation confirming the illicit activity. The suspect has been formally charged with misappropriation of property through abuse of office on an especially large scale. If convicted, he faces up to 12 years in prison, along with confiscation of property.

Additionally, two individuals who benefited from the arrangement have also been formally notified of suspicion. Their actions have been classified as evasion of military service under martial law, an offence punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment.

By Tamilla Hasanova