In Odesa, the organization ‘Ukraine Is a Mother,’ together with the TCC, issued ID cards that draft officers would not bother people with

In Odesa, a criminal group has been exposed that, under the guise of the public organization “Ukraine Is a Mother” and a volunteer formation created under it, sold draft-eligible men protection from mobilization.

This was reported by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

The head of the organization, two of his deputies, and two other participants—acting in collusion with officials of the Odesa regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support (TCC and SS)—set up a scheme to evade mobilization, agreeing that people carrying “Ukraine Is a Mother” ID cards would not be subject to mobilization measures.

The scheme involved an entire tariff system. For $1,000, a man could obtain a membership card, but he was required to patrol the city together with the TCC. For $3,000, a VIP package was offered with no duty shifts. The list of services also included removal from wanted lists through unauthorized changes to information systems and “resolving issues” in case of detention.

All participants were added to a Telegram channel that posted the geolocations of TCC checkpoints and instructions on what to do during inspections of registration documents. A monthly subscription to the channel cost 3,000 hryvnias (59 euro). Those who refused to pay were threatened with mobilization.

Investigators confirmed the involvement of TCC officials in the scheme: during a special operation, undercover officers carrying “Ukraine Is a Mother” IDs were able to avoid mobilization during checks. In addition, the receipt of 40,000 hryvnias and $3,000 for issuing such IDs was recorded, as well as the subsequent distribution of the money among the organizers.

The operators allegedly earned up to 30 million hryvnias per month. In the Odesa region alone, the organization had around 300 members, and up to 1,500 across Ukraine.

A total of 64 searches were carried out. More than 1.6 million hryvnias’ worth of cash in various currencies was seized, along with 6 firearms, 38 handheld grenade launchers, 6 vehicles, dozens of ID cards, and seals/stamps.

Those involved were notified of suspicion under Articles 114-1, 362, and 369-2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code (obstructing the activities of the Armed Forces, unauthorized actions with information, and abuse of influence). The court chose a preventive measure for the detainees: detention in custody without the right to bail.

Earlier, media reports described how a border service employee let draft-age men leave the country using documents belonging to his deceased father. Such an exit reportedly cost $15,000 per person.

And in Kyiv, an official allegedly, for $15,000–$20,000, used connections in a district TCC to fictitiously assign people to military units and then have them declared unfit for service using forged medical diagnoses.