About 30 Ukrainian men have died trying to illegally left the country to avoid mobilization in the war against Russia, which began in February 2022, the spokesman of the Ukrainian border service Andrii Demchenko announced last night, as quoted by Ukrinform and BTA.
„Some have lost their lives trying to cross a mountain river or cross mountains,” Demchenko said. “In total, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, about 30 people have died trying to illegally cross the border,”, he added.
With some exceptions, Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are prohibited by law from leaving the country because they may be drafted, Reuters notes.
Yesterday, the border guard of Ukraine announced on social networks that 24 men died while trying to cross the Tisza River bordering Romania.
Demchenko said that since the start of the war, the border police had uncovered about 450 criminal groups that tried to smuggle people across the border.
„Every day attempts are made to cross the border. Most of the attempts are outside the border posts on the border with Moldova and Romania. The largest number of attempts with forged documents was registered on the border with Poland”, said the border official.
Earlier this month, Demchenko said that on average about 10 men are stopped every day trying to leave Ukraine illegally.
Last week, Ukraine canceled consular services for men subject to mobilization, criticizing those Ukrainians abroad who expect help from the state without helping it survive the war against Russia.
Last November, the BBC reported, citing data on illegal border crossings from Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary, that nearly 20,000 men had left Ukraine to avoid conscription.