Desertion is rampant in Ukraine, and attempts to escape military service continue to be a major issue for Ukraine’s armed forces, reports Do Rzeczy.
“Ukrainians who do not want to go to war are looking for various ways to avoid conscription. Border guards near the border with Moldova detained two groups of men who tried to escape from Ukraine. They received administrative notices of having committed a crime,” the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported.
Officers detained two groups, consisting of eight and 11 men. In order to flee the country, they had paid $3,000 to $5,000 for online instructions from an organizer via the Telegram channel, which had them split into two groups to be more mobile and less conspicuous.
The men have been written up for attempting to illegally cross the state border of Ukraine.
This is not the first such situation. On Sept. 6, border guards from the Volyn detachment detained two men who intended to illegally cross the state border, and on Sept. 7, four fugitives were detained in Zakarpattia who had been hiking in the mountains for five days and wanted to cross the Tisza River. Meanwhile, in the Rivne Region, fugitives who tried to get to Belarus almost ran into mines.
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Ukraine is now instituting a new law, whereby parliament has banned the mobilization of men under the age of 25. Support for the change was high, and the law is now on President Zelensky’s desk to be signed.
The act prevents the mobilization of people aged 18-25 who have not completed military service or studied at military universities but fall under the status of so-called “limited usefulness.” This means a person who is not suitable for military service in times of peace due to their health condition but can be called up for service during war.
Another law, however, was passed back in April, whereby a soldier can no longer decide to end his service after 36 months, as had previously been allowed.
