The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

Border police: Number of Ukrainian men fleeing to Slovakia more than doubles

by Chris York May 9, 2024 11:03 PM 1 min read
Slovakia's new Prime Minister, Robert Fico, in Prague on Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
This audio is created with AI assistance

The number of military-age men caught fleeing Ukraine and attempting to cross into Slovakia more than doubled in the first four months of 2024, compared with the same period of 2023, the Slovak border police said on May 9.

Under martial law, Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60, with some exceptions, are not allowed to leave the country as they may be called up for military service.

Speaking to AFP, Slovak border police said 338 Ukrainians were detained and released in the first four months of 2024, compared to 166 over the same period in 2023.

"In the first week of May, we captured 45 men on the green border," spokesperson Agnesa Kopernicka said, adding: "In the same period of last year, this number was four."

Ukraine is updating the legal framework around conscription and introducing harsher penalties for draft evasion to ramp up mobilization in 2024.

On April 29, State Border Guard Service Head Andriy Demchenko said more than 30 men have died while attempting to cross Ukraine's mountainous western border to evade mobilization.

As Ukraine faces the challenge of mobilizing more men for its army, a November 2023 report by the BBC indicates that around 20,000 Ukrainian men have illegally crossed the border and escaped mobilization.

Many men end up crossing the border illegally with the help of smugglers, who demand vast sums only to leave the men to cross a river or mountain alone, Demchenko said.

"Every day we refuse border crossings to about 120 people," Demchenko said.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the State Border Guard Service has uncovered about 450 criminal networks that smuggle people across the border.

Subscribe to Ukraine Daily newsletter
News from Ukraine in your inbox

News Feed

10:57 PM

Trump administration weighs sanctions relief for Russia, Reuters reports.

The White House has directed the State and Treasury departments to compile a list of sanctions that could be lifted, according to sources. While internal government offices routinely prepare such options, the White House’s direct request signals a serious consideration of sanctions relief.
8:17 PM

Ukrainians react to Trump-Zelensky clash.

In the wake of the Feb. 28 clash between U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, the Kyiv Independent went to the streets of Kyiv to ask Ukrainians what they think of the now infamous meeting.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.