Ukraine's Draft Law Proposes Criminal Penalties for Evading Wartime Travel Restrictions

Draft Law No. 13673 Under Consideration in Ukraine's Parliament

According to ХВИЛЯ: A government bill, Draft Law No. 13673, is currently being reviewed by Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada. This legislation aims to establish criminal liability for men who illegally exit the country or fail to return on time during the ongoing state of martial law. Proposed penalties include fines and potential imprisonment, and the bill would also introduce a mechanism for in-absentia pre-trial investigation.

Draft Law No. 13673 has been with the parliament since August 2025 and was added to the parliamentary agenda in February 2026. The context of this bill is a significant increase in border violations since the full-scale invasion began. In 2021, Ukraine recorded just over three thousand cases of illegal border crossings. This number doubled in 2022 and reached nearly 10,000 in 2023. By 2024, illegal crossings exceeded 20,000. In the first quarter of 2025, authorities detained 4,678 men eligible for military service, a 10% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

Proposed Penalties and New Provisions

The new provisions stipulate that organizing illegal border crossings could result in imprisonment for 7 to 9 years with property confiscation. Crossing the border outside official checkpoints or using forged documents may incur fines ranging from 119,000 to 170,000 hryvnias or imprisonment for up to 3 years. However, individuals who return to Ukraine within three months can avoid criminal prosecution by reporting to law enforcement.

According to the proposed Article 337-1 of Ukraine's Criminal Code, penalties for overstaying a legal period abroad (30 or 60 days) include a fine of 34,000 to 51,000 hryvnias or imprisonment from 3 to 5 years. A person who returns within one month after the authorized period expires may also be exempt from criminal liability.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked: 'It turned out that they left for years, many of them left in violation of Ukrainian law.'

Thus, the government's Draft Law No. 13673 seeks to reduce the number of illegal departures and returns during martial law by establishing clear punishments for offenders.

The adoption of this bill could significantly impact the legal situation in Ukraine, particularly concerning the control of men's departure from the country during wartime. The establishment of strict sanctions may also help reduce cases of illegal border crossing, which is a pressing issue for state security. Analysis of the rising data on illegal exits underscores the need for effective control and punishment mechanisms that can influence citizen behavior in this area.

The increasing number of illegal border crossings highlights the urgent need for stricter regulations, as evidenced by recent cases like the arrest of a man in Kyiv who allegedly charged $32,000 to facilitate evasion of military service. This incident underscores the broader implications of Draft Law No. 13673, which seeks to impose severe penalties for such violations. For more details on this smuggling scheme and its relation to the ongoing enforcement of wartime travel restrictions, see the full report here.