Border guards in Ukraine halt numerous drafted soldiers.
Ever since the war started, the majority of Ukrainian males have been prohibited from leaving the country. Yet, countless still endeavor in this risky escape, ending up as casualties. In the southern part of the country, a significantly larger number of men have been caught by the authorities.
In the Odessa region of southern Ukraine, a grain truck transporting several dozen drafted soldiers was moving towards the border instead. Forty-one conscripts were found in a grain truck at the village of Nowossilske, as stated by the border guards on Friday. This village is situated just a few kilometers away from the Romanian and Moldovan borders. The soldiers supposedly hail from twelve different Ukrainian regions. Legal action has been initiated against them for attempting illegal border crossing. Two human traffickers are also being scrutinized.
Another man was detained by the border guards in the Carpathians near the Romanian border, according to a separate report. He had sent a distress signal after falling from a steep cliff. The soldier is from the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson.
Just recently, Ukrainian media shared news about the arrest of 32 men who had fled to Hungary in a truck across the unguarded border. "The neighboring side reported that they had discovered a vehicle and arrested 32 Ukrainian citizens," said Andrij Demchenko, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian border guard, to the Ukrainian news portal Ukrajinska Pravda on Monday.
Ukraine has been battling a Russian invasion for more than two years. With the war's start, martial law was enforced and a mobilization order was given. Travel abroad for men of conscription age between 18 and 60 has been granted only sparingly since then. Consequently, many choose to escape across the green border to the nearby EU countries or to Moldova. The bodies of fleeing males are often discovered in the Tysa (Theiss) river border and in the Carpathians. Reports of harsh forced conscription methods have escalated since the implementation of stricter conscription regulations in mid-May.
