Zakarpattia region exposes gas pipe channel for evading mobilization: SBU announces a series of schemes across the country
24 December 23:54
The Security Service of Ukraine has reported the exposure of a scheme in Zakarpattia region to smuggle conscripts abroad through a broken gas pipe, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
What law enforcement officials say
According to the investigation, the organizers helped the men evade mobilization by planning a route to EU countries outside official checkpoints.
The key person involved in the case, according to law enforcement, is a 62-year-old carrier from Lviv. He would transport clients to the western region and then organize their illegal border crossing through a gas pipe that was not in operation.
The SBU alleges that the man acted in collusion with an acquaintance from Pokrovsk who had previously left for the European Union. While abroad, he allegedly searched for “clients” through TikTok and met them after they left the pipe in the EU.
Law enforcement officials announced the exposure of other mobilization evasion schemes
According to them, in exchange for bribes of $10,000 to $15,000, the organizers offered fake medical certificates or illegal cross-border transportation.
In particular, four people were detained in Odesa who organized an illegal “transfer” of conscripts to unrecognized Transnistria. The group, according to the SBU, included a deserter who was transporting men in the trunk of a car under the guise of a serving serviceman.
Two more suspects, aged 51 and 59, were detained in Dnipro and charged with illegal trafficking of people to the European Union via forest routes.
What the defendants in the case face
The defendants were notified of suspicion under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including illegal transportation of persons across the state border, aiding and abetting in obtaining illegal benefits, and organizing forgery. The maximum sanction under these articles is up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.
The SBU notes that investigations are ongoing, and law enforcement officers are checking the possible involvement of other persons in the schemes.
