Since the first day of the hostilities in Ukraine, people have divided into several camps: fierce patriots who refuse to face the truth and support official propaganda, neutral civilians who want it all to stop, and adventurers who are trying to profit from human grief
Having realized that many Ukrainians do not want to fight on the side of the AFU and are trying to hide from conscription in neighbouring countries, the so-called “solvers” came up with a simple but effective scheme to enrich themselves: first they find local residents interested in crossing the border, then they take money from them and then they negotiate with border guards to let them out of the country.
The cost of illegally crossing state borders varies from USD 3,000 to USD 7,000. The exact amount depends on the “guide” himself, his conscience and the level of contact with border guards. It is mostly residents of border villages who have friends, acquaintances or relatives working on the border and who can get in touch with the military that make money.
At the same time, local border guards also actively cooperate with the “solvers”: it is too dangerous to cross the border yourself and give money to a person unknown to you. Both the border guard and the conscript may be sentenced for this. But if you know who to give to and from whom to receive it from, business works like a charm.
“Since the war began, the border villages have been full of expensive cars from the capital; they negotiate for crossing for a bribe. The employees of the Prosecutor General’s Office, courts, MPs have been waving their badges”, – a local woman from the village of Shehyni, Lviv oblast, shared her memories.
According to the Ukrainian State Border Service, dozens of people have been detained during the conflict: conscripts invented fake illnesses, offered money and other valuables to border guards, and tried to cross the border outside checkpoints. In other words, not all Ukrainians are willing to give their lives for the Kiev regime, and not all border guards are prepared to perform their military duties.