Draft Dodging Scam: Ukrainian men paying $6000 to avoid fighting war with Russia

Ukrainian authorities have revealed a far-reaching scheme operating in 11 regions and the capital, where men seeking to avoid military mobilization are obtaining fraudulent medical exemption certificates. The Prosecutor-General’s Office disclosed that they conducted searches at 100 locations in cities such as Kiev, Odessa, Lviv, and others, as part of their investigation into the scam. According to the prosecutors, officials from regional recruitment centers colluded with members of military-medical commissions to devise a method for issuing certificates declaring men unfit for military duty due to alleged health issues. These false documents resulted in their removal from the draft register. In exchange for this “service,” the conspirators reportedly charged an average of $6,000 from the men seeking to evade conscription. Surprisingly, these individuals did not even have to undergo any medical examinations, as there were no electronic medical records to verify their claims. They then utilized these deceitful medical exemptions to travel outside Ukraine. The searches carried out by the police led to the confiscation of incriminating evidence, including medical records, logs of medical findings, patient certificates, and other relevant documents from doctors’ offices, recruitment centers, and suspected draft dodgers’ residences. The entire scam was apparently facilitated by unnamed third parties, adding another layer of complexity to the investigation. Both the Ukrainian national police and the Security Service (SBU) are actively involved in the ongoing probe. As per reports, there have been no arrests so far, but several individuals have been issued “notices of suspicion.” The Ukrainian government had initiated multiple waves of conscription following the escalation of hostilities with Russia in February 2022. In late June, recruitment centers in several regions adopted a blanket notification approach, summoning all men of military age to report in, instead of sending individual summons. It’s worth noting that Ukraine does not publicly release official casualty figures for its military. Social media posts in recent months have, however, revealed graveyards across the country filling up at an alarming rate, reflecting the heavy toll of the ongoing offensive against well-prepared Russian positions in the southern region. During the month of July alone, the Ukrainian military suffered significant losses, including almost 21,000 soldiers and 2,227 units of military equipment.