A group of Ukrainian volunteers who were granted exemptions to temporarily leave the country to deliver humanitarian aid have failed to return and vanished abroad, an official has confirmed.
Under martial law, which Kiev introduced in February 2022, men aged 18 to 60 are banned from leaving the country without a special waiver. However the authorities allow male drivers of military age to cross the border provided they are transporting aid.
In a video message on Telegram on Saturday, Aleksandr Prokudin, the head of Ukraine’s military administration for Russia’s Kherson Region, said he granted permission to travel abroad to ten representatives of the United Ukraine and Adzhalik volunteer organizations.
The volunteers returned with the aid and even published photo evidence of the delivery, but when permission was granted for the second trip, they did not return.
“To our great regret, not everyone who calls themselves a volunteer is such in reality. Sometimes they hide their selfish goals behind the word ‘help,’” Prokudin said, without clarifying when and where the incident occurred.
“I appeal to all those who think they are ‘smarter than others’. You are breaking the law. And you will definitely be held accountable,” the official stated. He added that the border-crossing exemption has been withdrawn for these individuals and law enforcement is investigating the matter.
Since the beginning of the conflict with Russia, thousands of Ukrainian men have left the country with the intention of escaping the draft. Various schemes, including buying medical exemption papers, bribing recruitment officials, and illegal border crossing have been utilized.
On Friday, high-profile Ukrainian reporter Aleksey Pechiy announced his decision to stay in the EU after he received a waiver to travel to Brussels to cover the European Council summit. This betrayal of public trust, as his former employer described it, triggered concerns that Kiev might restrict travel for journalists and other professionals.
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s defense minister warned that all Ukrainian men of military age who flee the country will be “invited” to the recruitment centers, arguing that it is “an honor” to defend the country.
Ukraine is currently struggling to refill the ranks of its army after a failed summer counteroffensive and is taking additional measures to enhance border controls.
President Vladimir Zelensky has said that the military is seeking to enlist 450,000 to 500,000 people into the armed forces.