Swimming across rivers and feigning illness: this is how Ukrainians escape military service

class=”sc-29f61514-0 fwWrRV”>

This number irritates Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (45): Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, almost 20,000 men have fled abroad to avoid conscription.

Some crossed raging rivers, others feigned illness. Some men spoke to the British BBC about their reasons for fleeing.

“Not everyone is a warrior. You don’t have to lock down the whole country. “You can’t lump everyone together, as was the case in the Soviet Union,” says a man named Yevgeny. He simply walked across the country’s border into Moldova. But there are also more daring escape routes.

Ukrainians repeatedly swim through rivers towards Moldova or Romania. There is not always enough strength to cross the rough waters. The bodies of several drowned men were pulled ashore on the banks of the Tisza River, between Ukraine and Romania.

Waiting months for liberation

Erik (26), who came to the US via Moldova and lives there with his family, must follow a special diet after abdominal surgery. The musician was actually exempt from military service. But when war broke out, it proved impossible for him to legally obtain a medical exemption. «I tried for six months to get a certificate to prove that I was not fit, even though I had all the tests in hand. At some point I ran out of patience,” he says. He fled via the Moldovan region of Transnistria, close to Russia.

The war fuels crime. According to the study, some men pay smugglers to cross the border. Medical certificates are offered on Telegram for the equivalent of 3,800 Swiss francs.

Refugee caught with water wings

But not all conscientious objectors manage to escape. 21,113 people were arrested by Ukrainian authorities while trying to escape. You risk a prison sentence of up to eight years.

The failed fugitives also include two Ukrainians who wanted to travel to Romania. They were stopped at the border.

The men apparently intended to cross the Tisza River. To do this, they equipped themselves with flamingo swimming wings and a swimming ring with a floral pattern, as photos from Ukrainian authorities show.

Zelenskiy fires regional officials

The war is increasingly becoming a war of attrition. Ukraine needs all the soldiers it can get. Selenski knows that too.

In August, he criticized the “corrupt decisions” of the military-medical commissions, which had led to a tenfold increase in exemptions since February 2022. He announced that all regional officials responsible for conscription had been removed and that more than thirty people were facing criminal charges. (no)

Source: Blick