“Ukraine in miniature”: In Vylkove near Odesa, there are almost no men left — The New York Times

In the town of Vylkove, Odesa Oblast, almost all the men have disappeared.

This is reported in a feature by the American newspaper The New York Times.

The town of Vylkove in Odesa Oblast has become a “miniature Ukraine,” where men of conscription age have almost vanished because some were sent to the combat zone, while others are hiding from mobilization or fled abroad, NYT recounts in its report.

The outlet describes Vylkove as a run-down fishing port with canals instead of streets—hence it is sometimes called the “Ukrainian Venice.” Vylkove lies near the borders with Romania and Moldova, but it is surrounded by rivers, swamps, and barriers, making the escape of draft dodgers difficult and dangerous: many men managed to cross the border; others died or were caught.

“Romania beckons and is visible just across the Danube, and Moldova is very close, so flight is unusually tempting,” the article says.

Before the full-scale war, nearly 8,000 people lived in Vylkove; by the end of 2025 only about 5,000 remain, though the exact number is hard to estimate because many men are hiding from the draft.

A man named Ivan told the outlet that he was detained to be taken into the army, delivered to a training base, from which he escaped—and now he hides at home in Vylkove. Asked who is left in the town, Ivan says: “Women, the elderly, and men who try not to go outside unless necessary.”

All city hall employees except the mayor are women, said Mayor Matvii Ivanov.

“Women are everywhere now” in the town, he said, adding: “they like it—they control all areas of activity and are now in charge here.”

He called himself the only man left “or at least the only one who’s visible.”

Earlier media reported that seven men in a BMW flipped over while trying to break through into Moldova. And before that, border guards detained a man who tried to fly to Moldova on a paraglider.