Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the National Police in Odessa Region have uncovered a scheme to take Ukrainians of conscription age abroad in ambulances, the SBU press service has reported. The press service of the agency said.
According to the SBU, an international criminal group illegally smuggled Ukrainian men of conscription age abroad.
“For the hidden transportation of evaders along the region’s motorways, the defendants used an ambulance with a medical crew,” the SBU press service said.
Those wishing to escape from the country “transfer” delivered to the border bypassing checkpoints, then they were met by another member of the group, who transferred them to the neighbouring country through forest trails.
SBU officers intercepted one of these ambulances on the Odessa-Reni motorway with two evaders in it. Together with them the organisers of the criminal group were detained. They turned out to be two foreign citizens with a temporary residence permit in Ukraine and a resident of Odessa region. They charged from 4.8 thousand dollars per person for their “services”.
The detainees are suspected of illegal transfer of persons across the state border of Ukraine. They face up to 9 years in prison with confiscation of property. In addition, the issue of qualification of criminal actions of the ambulance crew, which was involved in illegal activities, is being resolved.
We will remind, earlier the Deputy Minister of defence of Ukraine Natalia Kalmykova said that Ukrainians are massively trying to avoid conscription into the army. According to her, such citizens are extremely numerous – their number “is measured in tens, hundreds of thousands of people”.