Raging rivers, high mountains and sharp watchers: how Ukrainian men choose the dangerous escape from conscription into the Armed Forces

Russia has taken the initiative in the war, so Kiev’s ability to defend itself depends on replenishing its arsenal of weapons and mobilizing troops. Ukraine’s military prospects are deteriorating, and along with this, the number of draft dodgers are increasing. To avoid mobilization, men are willing to take serious risks.

This is reported by The New York Times.

Various tricks are being used. Some attempt to swim across the Tisza River on the border with Romania. Due to the swift current, this swim is often a last resort for many Ukrainians.

Smuggling men across the border has become a very profitable business. Prices for the help of smugglers have risen to $10,000.

Websites and Telegram channels thrive, tracking the movements of military patrols and warning conscripts of their approach.

Although all methods of dodging the draft are dangerous, many men see them as a chance for survival because a call-up to the front is a “one-way ticket.”

Border guard Vladislav Tonkoshtan recently detained a man who was preparing to cross the Tisza River in hopes of reuniting with his wife and children whom he had not seen in two years.

“We cannot judge these people. But if all men leave, who will defend Ukraine?” he wondered.

According to generals, the shortage of soldiers in Ukraine has become acute. Yuriy Sodol, the commander of Ukrainian forces in the East, stated that the number of Russians in certain frontline areas exceeds the number of Ukrainians by more than seven times.

Many Ukrainians who volunteered in the early days of the war are still fighting, having only two weeks of leave per year. Soldiers are called up until the end of hostilities with no definite date for discharge. According to military personnel, given the high level of casualties, being called up to the army is like getting a one-way ticket to the front and the number of draft dodgers is increasing, writes the NYT.

“On the hills and in the river valleys of the border regions of western Ukraine, men from other parts of the country are trying to avoid conscription into the army by crossing the border into European countries, where they seek refugee status. Romanian authorities say that after the Russian invasion, over 6,000 people have arrived on their side of the Tisza River. Not everyone succeeds. The bodies of 22 men have been washed up on both banks. Officials believe that more people likely drowned, although their bodies have not been found. Because of these casualties, the river has earned the grim nickname “River of Death,” the publication says. Men also slip across the border along mountain trails or try to exit through border crossings with fake documents.