As Ukraine prepares for a new recruitment drive, thousands of men are resorting to illegal means to evade conscription, with some paying up to €8,000 (£6,800) to handlers who promise to smuggle them out of the country. The autumn cannot arrive soon enough for Dmytro, a 31-year-old photographer from Kharkiv, who has been hiding in his flat for a month to avoid being drafted. 'I want to leave the country. My mind can’t take being trapped here any more,' he said.
Since the start of the war, more than 20,000 men are believed to have fled Ukraine illegally, despite a nationwide ban on men aged 18 to 60 leaving the country. The numbers are expected to rise after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a controversial law in April lowering the mobilisation age from 27 to 25 and imposing stricter penalties for draft evasion, including loss of driving licences, frozen bank accounts, and property seizure.
Dmytro, who obtained contacts through friends who had already fled, said he is not made for war. 'I can’t kill people, even if they are Russians. I won’t last long on the front … I want to build a family and see the world. I am not ready to die,' he explained. He is unsure if he can trust the handlers, who have raised their prices due to growing demand, but sees no other options.
Andrei, a 23-year-old IT worker from Odesa, shared a message from a handler outlining two escape routes: crossing into Moldova with a fake passport or being listed as an artist, a category occasionally allowed to exit. Both cost about €8,000. Andrei previously attempted to cross using a fake medical certificate but was caught and released after paying a bribe. 'The journey is only getting more difficult and border officials are less eager to take bribes,' he said.
At least 30 Ukrainian men have died attempting to cross the border, according to Andriy Demchenko, head of the state border guard service, though the real number is likely higher. The draft has been criticised as chaotic and corrupt, prompting Zelenskiy to dismiss all regional military recruitment chiefs in April after reports of officers accepting bribes to exempt men from conscription. However, the practice appears hard to eradicate.
