Illegal border crossings surge as Ukrainian men flee mobilization

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (DPSU) reported the detention of 27 men who attempted to flee the country to avoid mobilization. In addition, the body of a 43-year-old man was found in the Dniester River. "The deceased had a phone and a foreign passport in a plastic bag," the statement reads.

According to the border guards, 27 men were detained before the border with Moldova.

"According to the instructions of the Telegram channel administrator, the men reached the border on their own. They had to pay between $5,400 CAD and $9,500 CAD to a cryptocurrency wallet for the 'service.' However, the action did not last long: in one of the villages in the Podolian region, they were detained by the border guard and police," the statement reads.

Under Ukrainian law, all the men will now be detained and then sent to the front.

In a subsequent tragic report, the DPSU informed that a resident of a border village noticed a man "swimming in the Dniester River towards Moldova and suddenly disappearing."

The border guard began a rescue operation. "Unfortunately, the body of the man was later found. It turned out to be a 43-year-old resident of Mohyliv-Podilskyi. The deceased had a phone and a foreign passport in a plastic bag," it was reported.

The Moldovan section of Radio Free Europe reported on July 10 that about 23,500 Ukrainians arrived in Moldova, bypassing border checkpoints, from February 24, 2022, to May 31, 2024, citing data from the border guard.

These figures pertain to men of conscription age because only this group faces restrictions at the border with Moldova. As Radio Europa Libera Moldova writes, this does not mean all these people stayed illegally in Moldova.

As the portal explains, fleeing mobilization, punishable in Ukraine, is not considered a crime in Moldova. The escapees apply to the authorities (or the border guard, but as they say, "it's more difficult") for temporary protection or asylum.

In response to a question from Radio Europa Libera, the head of the border guard, Ruslan Galusca, stated that if Ukrainians are detained or report to the border guard or the Migration Inspectorate requesting some form of international protection, they "are not subject to penalties for illegal border crossing."

However, while the Moldovan enforcement agencies do not send Ukrainians back home, they interrogate them to gather information about potential organizers of illegal migration.