A “warning” shot in the back: border guards killed a man fleeing Ukraine again
3 September 2025 13:43
On the Ukrainian-Moldovan border in Odesa region, border guards killed a man who was trying to illegally cross the state border and escape from Ukraine to Moldova. This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation, which opened criminal proceedings over the incident, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
What happened
According to preliminary data from the State Bureau of Investigation, the tragedy occurred on September 1 at about 18:00. While patrolling, a border patrol noticed two men climbing over the protective structures and moving towards Moldova.
“They did not respond to the lawful requests of law enforcement officers to stop. During the pursuit, the border guards made several warning shots in the direction of the offenders. Later, the body of one of the fugitives was found with a gunshot wound incompatible with life. The other man was detained by border guards on the spot,”
– the SBI wrote.
The deceased was a 23-year-old resident of Kharkiv. He was carrying a passport for traveling abroad and personal belongings.
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The investigation
Criminal proceedings were opened in connection with the incident under the article on abuse of power or official authority. Investigators examined the scene, seized material evidence and questioned witnesses. Investigative actions are currently underway to establish all the circumstances of the tragedy. Procedural guidance is provided by the Odesa Specialized Defense Prosecutor’s Office of the Southern Region.
The SBI did not report that the border guard who shot people in the back had been suspended from duty.
It is also worth noting that the warning shot, according to the instructions for law enforcement officers, is fired upwards, not “in the direction of the offenders.”
It is also interesting that the SBI reported the opening of criminal proceedings “over the death of a serviceman” and not a person, citizen or husband.
Not for the first time
Last year in May, a similar incident occurred on the Romanian border. Border guards were chasing a person who had violated the border, and one of them opened fire, claiming that it was a warning shot from a service weapon.
The victim was a 39-year-old resident of Dnipro who died of a gunshot wound to the head. At the time, the SBI did not release any official reports about the incident – the information was leaked to the media from unofficial sources. Since then, law enforcement officials have not commented publicly on the progress of the investigation.
Shots in the back are normal
In world history, there have been regimes where an attempt to leave the territory of one’s country without the permission of the state was considered a serious crime. In such cases, border troops were ordered to open fire on their own citizens who tried to cross the border illegally. The most famous example is the so-called “shoot to kill policy” in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). For decades, the Berlin Wall and other parts of the East German border had clear instructions for border guards: to apprehend the fugitive at any cost, including the lethal use of weapons. According to various estimates, hundreds of people died trying to escape to West Germany.
A similar practice existed in the Soviet Union. Illegal border crossing was considered “treason against the Motherland,” and border guards had the right to open fire without warning. This created an atmosphere of fear and demonstrated that the state controlled not only the lives of its citizens, but also the very possibility of leaving the country. In some cases, family members of the fugitives could also suffer reprisals for fleeing.
Similar measures are still in place in a number of authoritarian regimes where the authorities perceive the departure of citizens as a threat to national security. North Korea still applies a policy of shooting at citizens who try to flee to the south. This practice is condemned by international human rights organizations as a violation of the fundamental human right to freedom of movement enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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