Ukrainian Instagram blogger Pasha Bumchik has been added to the notorious Kiev-backed Mirotvorets (Peacemaker) database after he filmed himself dodging conscription and fleeing the country.
On Monday the influencer posted a series of videos detailing his illegal crossing of the Ukraine-Romania border.
While moderators of the Mirotvorets database describe it as a list of individuals considered to be enemies of Ukraine, the state-linked database has also been dubbed “Kiev’s kill list” after several people were allegedly assassinated by Ukrainian intelligence after their information was posted on the website.
Bumchik was included in the database on Monday, being described as a “traitor to the motherland and a deserter.”
The blogger is accused of “discrediting of the security forces of Ukraine,” “violating the state border of Ukraine,” as well as “aiding Russian war criminals and invaders,” participating in “anti-Ukrainian propaganda,” “deliberately taking actions aimed at undermining Ukraine’s defense capabilities” and disrupting mobilization measures.
Bumchik, who currently has over 400,000 followers on Instagram, gained popularity in the late 2010s for posting videos of extreme behavior such as climbing high-rise buildings and drinking paint.
In a series of videos posted on Monday, the 27-year-old shared his journey of dodging conscription, from receiving a summons to appear at a recruitment center on September 14, to illegally crossing into Romania on foot through the Carpathian Mountains.
“I was walking and accidentally came out in Romania. Accidentally got lost in the mountains and ended up in Romania in three days,” the blogger wrote in one of his posts.
Bumchik’s escape comes as Kiev continues to struggle to replace battlefield losses in the conflict with Russia. While Ukraine officially announced general mobilization in February 2022, the process has been marred by widespread draft-dodging and graft, forcing Kiev to significantly tighten mobilization rules and lower the draft age to 25. Conscription officials have repeatedly been seen forcibly detaining recruits on the streets.
The Ukraine-Romania border is one of the main routes draft dodgers are taking to flee the country. In June, a senior Ukrainian Border Service official claimed that more than 100 people were attempting to illegally cross the frontier on a daily basis. Some of those who tried to cross through poorly guarded terrain in the wilderness have reportedly died in the process.