The Ukrainian State Border Guard has reported capturing a man dressed in women’s clothes as he tried to illegally cross into Romania, according to a statement and video published on the service’s website on Monday.
The guard stated that the 44-year-old man, who is a resident of the city of Zolotonosha, presented his sister’s passport at a checkpoint in Transcarpathia Region while wearing a skirt, an “unpretentious fashion bow, makeup and a wig.”
However, his disguise was immediately blown when he approached the border control, according to the guards who mockingly called him “charming Sergietta.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Border Service reported on Sunday that the country’s authorities are stopping more than 100 people from leaving the country each day now that Kiev has ramped up mobilization efforts.
According to Andrey Demchenko, the persons being stopped “do not fall under the pass category” or “do not have the necessary documents to cross the border." He also noted that the rules for leaving the country could soon change after a new mobilization law comes fully into force in the coming days.
Kiev officially declared a general mobilization throughout the country shortly after Russia launched its military campaign in February 2022. Under the law, men aged 18 to 60 who do not qualify for an exception are banned from leaving, as they may be called up for military service.
Additionally, under the new revised laws signed by President Vladimir Zelensky last month, the conscription age for men has been lowered from 27 to 25 and all Ukrainians must now update their personal data with local military authorities. Those eligible to be called up are also now required to carry their military IDs.
Kiev is intensifying mobilization efforts in an attempt to replenish the losses it has sustained throughout its conflict with Russia. While Ukrainian authorities have not officially confirmed the number of casualties suffered, Russia’s Defense Ministry estimated last week that Kiev has lost more than 111,000 servicemen this year alone, while its total losses throughout the conflict have amounted to about half a million troops.