The SSU Military Counterintelligence, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the National Police, in cooperation with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, have uncovered four new schemes for evading military service and mobilisation.

The organisers of these schemes have been detained; they had transferred military personnel to positions in the rear or helped draft dodgers evade conscription using forged documents.

In the Chernihiv region, a military unit commander was exposed for transferring mobilised personnel from combat units to the Chernihiv garrison in exchange for bribes.

It has been documented how the suspect registered three soldiers as ‘rear-area personnel’ and received nearly 2 million Hryvnias from them.

In the Zhytomyr region, the commander of one of the AFU brigades was detained for placing acquaintances and relatives in his unit.

These ‘conscripts’ did not perform military duties, did not report to their units, and even remained at their actual places of residence.

In return, the official took the bank cards of his ‘subordinates’ and embezzled their salaries, ‘earning’ UAH 370,000.

In the Khmelnytskyi region, the deputy commander of a Ukrainian Armed Forces training centre has been declared suspect for transferring conscripts to rear military units in exchange for bribes of USD 5,000.

To do this, the suspect promised to write letters of recommendation and influence his acquaintances who were commanders of military units.

In the Lviv region, a contract soldier from a border guard detachment was caught red-handed offering draft dodgers ‘discharge’ from military registration for USD 16,000.

To carry out the crime, he enlisted the help of officials of a Territorial Recruitment Centre, who, for money, falsely classified conscripts as unfit for service due to health reasons.

The organisers have been notified of their status as suspects in connection with the crimes committed under the Articles of the CCU:

• 27.5, 191.4 (aiding and abetting the embezzlement, misappropriation, or acquisition of property through abuse of official position under martial law);
• 28.2, 369-2.3 (abuse of influence, committed by a group, by prior conspiracy);
• 27.5, 364.2 (abuse of power or official position);
• 409.4 (evasion of military service through self-mutilation or other means, committed under martial law).

The investigation is ongoing. The suspects face up to 10 years in prison.

The operational and investigative measures were carried out by the SSU regional offices under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor’s Offices.