Ukrainian border guards admit firing shots to stop draft dodgers
Ukrainian border guards have resorted to firing shots to stop people from fleeing the country, the State Border Service said on Saturday. A patrol in Ukraine’s western Transcarpathia Region had to fire several rounds while chasing a group that was attempting to illegally cross into Hungary, a statement posted on Facebook claims.
Border guards detained a total of nine people fleeing Ukraine through the Transcarpathia region in just one day, the service said. The first group, including three Kiev residents, tried to cross the border at night using online maps. They stumbled upon a patrol several hundred meters from the frontier, the social media post said.
The first group was soon followed by another consisting of four Transcarpathia residents. The men had contacted traffickers and paid $5,500 each for safe passage across the border, authorities said. They were chased by border guards, according to the statement, and shots were fired.
Two more men tried to cross into Hungary elsewhere on the same night but were also intercepted. Those detained, from the northern Chernigov Region, had paid $7,000 to traffickers to get into Hungary, according to the authorities.
Ukraine is trying to mobilize more troops in order to replenish heavy losses sustained in the fighting with Russia. Announced shortly after the start of the conflict, the campaign has been marred by widespread draft dodging and graft, as well as attempts to flee the country. This spring, Kiev significantly expanded conscription rules and lowered the age limit from 27 to 25.
In early June, the Ukrainian Border Service said that at least 45 Ukrainian men had died in attempts to flee to the EU. Most men between the ages of 18 and 60 are barred from exiting Ukraine in case they are called up to serve. Kiev also barred dual citizens from leaving this month.
In May alone, ten people were confirmed to have drowned in the Tisza River, which flows from Ukraine’s southwestern border through Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia, according to the authorities. The Border Service’s western regional branch said in early June that bodies had recently been found in rivers and mountainous terrain in areas bordering the EU.
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said on Friday that Ukraine lost more than 35,000 troops in May alone. Earlier in the month, Moscow estimated Kiev’s losses since the start of 2024 at over 111,000.
