On the Run: Ukrainian Men Pay Hefty Sums to Evade Military Service, Ex-Border Guard Reveals

A former Ukrainian border guard who worked for the Russian special services, Ruslan Syrovoy, told Sputnik that services to help men of military age leave the country are in high demand in Ukraine, with prices ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. Interestingly, the most expensive service is obtaining "official" permission to leave the country.

Ruslan Syrovoy, a former head of the cybersecurity department of the Mukachevo border guard unit of the State Border Service of Ukraine, who was involved in data collection for Russian intelligence services, shared with Sputnik that he left Ukraine via Hungary. He reached the border on foot, obtained a 30-day visa from the Hungarian police, traveled to Budapest, and then flew to Moscow.

"Men between the ages of 18 and 60 are severely restricted in terms of mass mobilization throughout the country. I will take the Zakarpatye region, where I personally witnessed all of this, where I personally stood at the border checkpoints with representatives of the conscription offices. They were using various means to lure people and take them to their stations," Syrovoy said.

He explained that many people from the Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kharkov regions, who once sought a better life in Ukraine, are actively trying to emigrate to Europe. According to him, these people need to register with the conscription office in order to apply for resettlement benefits.

"If you have already gone to register at the conscription office, there is no guarantee that you will return and continue to receive social benefits, because they may immediately draft you," he pointed out.

Syrovoy clarified that a large number of men are trying to leave Ukraine to avoid conscription.

"People are fleeing the country because there is a powerful mobilization and people don't want to go to war. Through various means - through the media, on the Internet, through acquaintances and people involved in illegal human smuggling across the 'green border'... The price tag is $5,000 per person," Syrovoy said.

According to him, in addition to illegal routes, where smugglers lead people through the forests and share their earnings with border guards, there are also official crossing points. Syrovoy noted that "officially" leaving Ukraine already costs $10,000.

"This money is paid, and then it goes to the heads of the border service. The heads then inform the guards who check the documents at the checkpoints that such a person must be allowed through. And the flow of people, I must say, is very significant, you could even say that in a week, at least 10 people cross at a single checkpoint. And the flow keeps coming, coming, and coming. There are times when up to 20 people cross in a single night. Imagine, 20 people - that's a significant amount of money," Syrovoy concluded.