Evasion for money: Medics in Mykolaiv sold "disability" during the war

According to the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office as of 10 April 2026, law enforcement uncovered in Mykolaiv a group of medical workers who organized an illegal scheme for issuing fictitious disability. In the unlawful activity were involved a surgeon — a member of the expert team for assessing everyday functioning (created instead of MSEC) — and an orthopedic doctor.

The investigation established that as early as 19 September 2025 the medics offered a man subject to mobilization to obtain a 3rd group of disability for $11,000. Payment was to be made in two stages: $5,000 — advance, and another $6,000 — after receiving the corresponding status. To implement the scheme the doctors prepared forged medical documents, organized an imitation of inpatient treatment and instructed the client on how to correctly simulate symptoms during the assessment.

7 April 2026 the suspects were detained immediately after receiving the second part of the illicit payment in accordance with Art. 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. During searches the suspects had seized more than $100,000, €3,600 and over 200,000 hryvnias, as well as mobile phones containing evidence of correspondence and forged medical documentation. The doctors were notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Art. 28, Part 1 of Art. 114‑1 and Part 3 of Art. 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — obstruction of the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and receiving unlawful advantage by prior conspiracy of a group of persons on a large scale. The court imposed pre-trial detention as a preventive measure.

Investigative actions are currently underway to identify all participants in the scheme. The pre-trial investigation is being carried out by the SBU in Mykolaiv Oblast.

Previously we wrote:

• Almost 70 searches across Ukraine: the investigation reached a hospital in the Korabelnyi district of Mykolaiv
• “Reserve+” and fake certificates: how in the Mykolaiv region they sold military service without risk
• Fake medical certificates during the war: the former head of MSEC is on trial in Mykolaiv
• In Mykolaiv the organizer of a scheme to remove someone from military registration for $8,200 will face trial
• Gas pipe, car trunks and fake certificates: the SBU busted 8 organizers of “draft‑evasion schemes”