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Dmytro, a 31-year-old photographer from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, has holed up in his apartment, rarely going out, to avoid being drafted into the army. “I want to leave the country. My mind can’t stand being trapped here anymore,” he told the Guardian.
Since the war began, thousands of Ukrainian men have crossed the border illegally to avoid military servicedespite a nationwide ban on men aged between 18 and 60 leaving the country. Attempts to flee the country are expected to increase after Ukraine recently adopted new wide-ranging mobilization measureswhich allow the military to call up more soldiers and impose harsher penalties for draft evasion.
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«I never thought about leaving before the introduction of the mobilization laws. But I can’t stay in my apartment forever,” Dmytro explains to Guardian reporter Pjotr Sauer. Through friends who had already escaped, the 31-year-old obtained contacts and turned to people online who promised to facilitate his escape in exchange for at least 8,000 euros. «I am not made for war. I cannot kill people, even if they are Russian. I will not last long on the front… I want to build a family and see the world. I am not ready to die,” says the photographer, now left without hope and with no other way out than to trust those who promised him freedom at a high price.
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The Ukrainian armed forces are desperately short of soldiers. Since the war began, hundreds of thousands of ordinary Ukrainians have volunteered to serve at the front, helping to maintain the country’s independence and repel the initial attack. Many of these soldiers have died, been wounded, or simply exhausted, leaving the army to recruit the most reluctant. In April Zelensky signed a law lowering the mobilization age from 27 to 25 and imposing harsher penalties for those who avoid the draft: from the loss of driving licenses to the freezing of bank accounts to the seizure of properties.
Night of fire in Ukraine, aerial images show the unstoppable Russian advance on Chasiv Yar
More than two years after the start of the war unleashed by Putin, it is believed that more than 20,000 men have fled Ukraine to avoid ending up at the front. Some, while trying to cross the Ukrainian border with Romania, swam in the Tisza and drowned. Others froze to death in the mountainous area that separates the two countries. These are low numbers. In April, Andriy Demchenko, head of the Ukrainian border guard service, documented the deaths of at least 30 men in the escape attempt across the border. The real number is probably much higher. Many bodies will never be recovered.
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Ukraine has stepped up efforts to prevent people from fleeing across borders and evading the draft. Zelensky fired all regional military recruiting chiefs in April following reports of bribes paid by those who didn’t want to wear the uniform. Despite the Ukrainian president’s desire to eradicate corruption, it seems difficult to make progress.
Andrei, a 23-year-old computer scientist from Odessa shared with the Guardian a message he received at the end of May from a conscription officer with information on how to leave the country. The detailed instructions presented Andrei with two choices: cross the Moldovan border with a fake passport or be registered as an artist, a category that can occasionally leave the country. However, both solutions had a cost: around 8,000 euros to be paid into the officer’s pocket.
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Last summer, the 23-year-old had already attempted to cross the border into Moldova using a false medical certificate stating his unfitness for service.. The attempt failed when border police questioned the authenticity of the certificate. Taken to a conscription office, he was released after paying a bribe. “The journey is becoming more and more difficult and border officials are less willing to accept bribes. I don’t think I’ll be so lucky a second time if things go badly,” he said.
Andrei said he was still evaluating the offer of the head of the draft office, explaining that in this way he would nullify his life’s sacrifices and savings: «For now I am under self-imposed house arrest. I never leave my apartment.” Some of his friends have already been drafted and killed. Events that caused damage to his mental health.
Kharkiv, the Russian raid filmed by a surveillance camera: bomb explodes a few meters from a passerby who manages to save herself
To date there is no precise data on how many men are hiding or planning to leave, but Telegram channels with thousands of members have sprung up in large cities, where users report sightings of officers to help others avoid them.
Many expressed fear of dying in a battle marked by gruesome trench fighting and a brutal death rate. Others spoke of resisting conscription because of what they perceived as inadequate training before being sent to the front. Some chose to avoid mobilization for complex family reasons.
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While overall support for Ukrainian troops remains high and polls show there are still a significant number of men willing to be mobilised, the push for conscription risks dividing society in the already war-weary country. Many Ukrainian soldiers at the front, or those who have returned after being wounded, criticize those who flee the draft, arguing that it weakens the war effort as Russian forces advance on multiple fronts.
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«I understand that people are scared, but we simply need new recruits to continue fighting.» says a wounded soldier who has just returned from the front. «If we don’t do it, who will protect this country?».
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