Fraudulent Marriages and Fake Disabilities: New Schemes to Evade Military Draft Uncovered

Illegal Crossings: Men Evading Military Service

According to Главком: Authorities in Ukraine have exposed multiple operations designed to help draft-eligible men flee the country illegally. In one case, a woman with a disability from the Bila Tserkva region organized a scheme involving sham marriages. She offered men the chance to marry her, which would grant them the legal status of a caregiver and allow them to cross the border without restrictions. The price for this service was set at €50,000. Her arrest came after she submitted a marriage registration application at a local Administrative Services Center (ASAC). She now faces charges under Articles 15.3, 332.3, and 369.3 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, and has been placed in pretrial detention. If convicted, she could face up to nine years in prison.

Cracking Down on Illegal Border Networks

In Lviv, law enforcement also detained a father-and-son duo who had established an illegal crossing network. The suspects are 66-year-old Roman Butlyar, a former deputy of the Matsoshyn village council, and his 46-year-old son Bohdan, a private entrepreneur. They began developing their plan in February 2024.

Meanwhile, in the capital, a court sentenced the head of a charitable organization for running a similar illegal transport scheme. His fee was $12,000 USD. He received a prison term with asset forfeiture. In the summer of 2023, the convicted man met a Kyiv resident looking for a way out of the country and promised to register him as a volunteer under the guise of his own charity foundation.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, twin sisters were caught helping men obtain fake disability certificates to facilitate their departure. These cases highlight the ongoing challenge of illegal border crossings by men subject to mobilization, and demonstrate that law enforcement continues to actively combat such activities.

These incidents underscore the severity of the issue as Ukraine remains under martial law. The exposure of these schemes reflects intensified efforts by authorities to fight corruption and organized crime. At the same time, they point to the urgent need for systemic legal and administrative reforms to close loopholes that enable such fraud.

In a related development, authorities in the Dnipropetrovsk region have apprehended twin sisters accused of facilitating draft evasion through the issuance of fraudulent disability certificates. This case underscores the extensive network of individuals exploiting loopholes for illegal border crossings. For further details on this operation, see how the sisters' actions align with other recent schemes aimed at avoiding military service in the Dnipropetrovsk region.