"Evacuation" Ukrainian-style: for $15,000 they promised to hide people from the draft

The investigation established at least 10 incidents and corrupt ties in medical institutions; 23 searches resulted in the seizure of weapons and suspicions against six people

Цей матеріал також доступний:

12 May 2026

0 0

Law enforcement officers 7 May stopped the activities of an interregional group that organized the illegal removal of servicemen from military units and places of duty to further evade service in the defense forces; the special operation was carried out in several regions, including Volyn, Lviv, Rivne, Zhytomyr and Chernivtsi oblasts.

According to the National Police of Ukraine, participants in the scheme operated at least since November 2025 and may be involved in no fewer than 10 incidents of illegal removal of servicemen.

Operational units of the Strategic Investigations Department in the Volyn region of the National Police, together with the State Bureau of Investigations, found that the suspects were searching for servicemen who sought to leave service without authorization, after which they organized their escape and concealment. For such “services” the criminals charged from 8 to 15 thousand dollars depending on the level of secrecy and the route.

The investigation also established the use of rented vehicles with altered license plates, GPS trackers and special mobile phones for coordination. According to law enforcement, corrupt connections in medical institutions allowed arranging fictitious treatment in civilian hospitals, from which the “evacuation” of servicemen was then organized.

During another attempt to “remove” one of the servicemen, law enforcement, with force support from the TOR special unit, detained the organizer and two accomplices at the moment of handing over 8 thousand dollars. Another group member was detained in accordance with article 615 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, and 3 servicemen who had left their unit without authorization were also detained.

As part of the special measures, 23 searches were carried out in the Volyn and Rivne regions. Law enforcement seized weapons, including unregistered ones, vehicles, mobile phones, medical documentation and draft notes.

Based on the collected evidence, 6 people were notified of suspicion — both members of the group and servicemen who had left their place of service without authorization. Their actions have been qualified under articles of the Criminal Code that provide liability for unauthorized abandonment of a military unit and for desertion.

The police reminded that, according to article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, everyone is presumed innocent until their guilt is proven in accordance with the law and confirmed by a guilty verdict of a court.

The State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) earlier reported that since the beginning of the full-scale war hundreds of cases of fictitious service and fraudulent schemes have been identified involving former and current officials, deputies and military personnel who, using official connections, illegally avoided service while at the same time receiving funds from the budget.