EU countries have extradited 126 draft dodgers to Ukraine since February 2022

Since February 2022, European Union countries have extradited 126 Ukrainian citizens to Kyiv who were detained while crossing the border illegally.

This information comes from the Ukrainian News Agency, citing a response from the State Border Guard Service to an information request.

According to the agency’s data, Ukraine received 126 of its citizens through an accelerated extradition procedure who had been apprehended by competent authorities in Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Warsaw deported 88 individuals, Budapest extradited 20 Ukrainian citizens, Bucharest returned 16, and Bratislava handed over two more.

On October 26, the news portal Newsmaker, citing data from the Moldovan Border Police, reported that Chisinau had deported 35 Ukrainian citizens since February 2022 who had attempted to leave Ukraine illegally.

Since February of the previous year, Ukraine has declared and repeatedly extended a general mobilization, with the country’s authorities taking various measures to prevent men of conscription age from avoiding military service. This includes travel bans abroad and the distribution of conscription notices in government institutions, on the streets, and in any public gathering places. According to Ukrainian media, many men have been virtually confined to their homes for months to avoid being sent to the combat zone. On August 23, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the military had requested an intensification of mobilization efforts.