The SSU has blocked another six channels of illegal departure of Ukrainian men of conscript age to the EU.

As a result of special operations in several regions of Ukraine, over 10 organizers of illegal ‘traffic’ were detained.

The cost of a ‘ticket’ ranged from USD 2,000 to 6,000, depending on the area of residence and urgency of departure.

However, due to the SSU’s prompt response, over a hundred people were prevented from illegally leaving abroad.

In Kyiv:

The SSU blocked the activity of a criminal group engaged in organizing illegal migration channels.

For money, they ‘registered’ their clients as representatives of volunteer organizations that supposedly transport humanitarian aid.

In Volyn region:

The SSU dismantled another scheme of draft evaders’ escape abroad. A border guard and a representative of a commercial entity were involved in its organization.

They ‘employed’ potential recruits to a carrier company and entered the relevant data into the Shliakh system.

In this way, they tried to illegally transport up to 20 people across the state border.

Both suspects were detained when they received another bribe for the ‘services’ in the amount of USD 6,000. The detainees have been notified of suspicion.

Another three locals, who were apprehended in the region, offered potential conscripts to go to the EU on the basis of fictitious documents on studying at foreign universities, children’s birth certificates as well as medical certificates.

In Zhytomyr region:

The SSU exposed two entrepreneurs, who offered citizens via a Telegram channel to go abroad ‘due to health reasons’.

For this purpose, the dealers independently produced fake documents on unfitness for military service.

The offenders approached each ‘order’ individually - certificates were made taking into account the client’s region of residence.

In Ivano-Frankivsk region:

The SSU shut down a channel of illegal migration organized by the head of a visa center together with the director of a contractor company, which has a license for international transportation.

For their ‘clients’, the dealers arranged fictitious employment in the company. After that, personal information was entered into the Shliakh database, which allowed them to cross the border as ‘drivers’.

In Dnipropetrovsk region:

The SSU detained a resident of the oblast who organized ‘traffic’ using forged conclusions of medical and social expert commissions.

Most often counterfeited documents were pension cards and disability certificates.

Investigations are ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the offenses and bring the perpetrators to justice. Criminal proceedings were opened under the Articles of the CCU:

• 332 (illegal transportation of persons across Ukraine’s state border);
• 358 (forgery of documents, seals, stamps and forms, sale or use of forged documents, seals, stamps);
• 368 (acceptance of an offer, promise or receipt of undue benefit by an official).

The operations to expose the offenders were carried out by the SSU Main Directorate for Countering Systemic Threats to State Administration, SSU Offices in Kyiv and Kyiv region, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr and Ivano-Frankivsk regions jointly with the State Border Guard Service, the National Police under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office.