76 draft workers charged with corruption since start of full-scale war; 2,500 illegal exemptions uncovered, police chief says
on Google
Seventy-six draft office workers have been charged in connection with 428 criminal cases involving the illegal evasion of military service investigated since Russia's full-scale invasion, acting National Police Chief Maksym Tsutskiridze said on Aug. 11.
Nationwide, the police has investigated the possible illegal exemption of nearly 2,500 military-eligible men, and annulled around 6,500 unlawful rulings by military medical commissions, Tsutskiridze said in comments to Ukrinform.
The cases involve illegal assistance with draft evasion, falsified medical certificates, and schemes to help men illegally cross the border despite being barred from leaving Ukraine under martial law.
Of those cases, 105 have been sent to court, while the rest remain under investigation, Tsutskiridze said.
Forced mobilization remains one of the greatest sources of social and political tension in Ukraine, as the military's need for the replenishment and rotation of combat units clashes with a reluctance to serve among much of the eligible male population not already in the armed forces' ranks.
While exemption letters are offered legally to those working in state structures, other essential roles or the defense industry, military-aged men looking to illegally avoid service have other options, including bribes paid for fake medical documents, removal from the register, or to leave Ukraine.
According to Tsutskiridze, police are concentrating resources on the areas of greatest risk — mobilization itself, deferment documents, and medical commission decisions — with an emphasis on thorough documentation, identifying all participants in a given scheme, and building files that will hold up in court, rather than simply increasing the number of cases opened.
The police chief added that the law "must apply equally" to conscripts and to officials responsible for mobilization or medical board rulings, and that no position, rank or resources should shield anyone from accountability.
At the same time, he stressed that accountability must be individualized and evidence-based, warning against letting the exposure of specific abuses turn into a blanket campaign against all draft officers or the annulment of legitimate rulings of medical commissions.
Law enforcement reportedly searched the offices of Ukraine's draft authorities and military medical commissions in Mukachevo, Zakarpattia Oblast, on Aug. 6 as part of an investigation into more than 1,000 alleged cases of men being illegally removed from the military register, Ukrainian media reported.
