The city of Ismail, in the southernmost part of Ukraine, is located on the Danube, and on the other bank of the river is Romania. The width of the river there is about 600 meters, which more and more people dare to swim across, ARD reports.
With wetsuits and flippers
In most cases, these are men between 30 and 40 years old who want to avoid military service, Andriy, who patrols the river in a boat of the Ukrainian border guard, told the German public media. The men use wetsuits, flippers, scooters, sometimes boats. But the escape is dangerous. Under the calm surface of the river, there are strong currents and the journey often turns out to be longer than the refugees think, Andriy points out.
He told German public television how the coast guard recently saved a young man from drowning, while another managed to escape. It is not known how many people left Ukraine this way, but according to Ukrainian data, around 70,000 illegal border crossings by men between the ages of 18 and 60 were registered at the end of 2025.
Some of the refugees sought understanding from the border guards, even begging to be let go. "Sometimes I feel sorry for them, but a violation is a violation," Andriy told ARD.
Successful escape to Poland
Three years ago, Volodymyr Korenevoy was on the front in Donbass - in an area with very heavy fighting, near the city of Avdiivka, now occupied by the Russians. At the time, he was 24 years old and volunteered to help the soldiers - he cut their hair for free. "It was a kind of therapy for them and it was very important," the volunteer recalls.
For him, it was a way to help in the war. In 2022, many of his friends volunteered to serve at the front, but for him, it was unthinkable - he simply could not imagine fighting, he tells ARD. But he still wanted to be useful, to help the men at the front with something.
Every few weeks, the hairdresser would go to the front, where he would stay for a week or two. The soldiers were grateful to him, and Volodymyr felt that he was supporting the defenders of Ukraine.
"I was very afraid of being drafted into the army"
Today, almost three years later, Volodymyr is still working as a hairdresser - but in Warsaw. He left Ukraine illegally, but as he told ARD in his new hairdressing salon: "I was very afraid of being drafted into the army. If you join the army, you no longer belong to yourself", the young man shares.
Volodymyr says that he was drafted into the army in 2025. 30 days later, he managed to escape from the training camp, after which he left Ukraine by land to Romania. “On the one hand, I am a traitor. But on the other hand, many supported me for this decision and did not prosecute me, as they do not wish a similar fate on others."
He is convinced - the military does not need him. The military needs men who want to fight and are motivated.
Do the border guards show understanding?
Most border guards on the Danube see things differently. But Andriy also shows understanding. He knows what it means to leave your homeland. He lived in Mariupol, which was occupied by Russian troops in 2022. He then managed to leave the city and arrived with his family in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the country, eventually reaching Ismail.
He believes that it is not easy for anyone to leave their homeland, as he tells ARD. And he emphasizes that everyone has their own opinion. “They have to decide for themselves where to go and what they want to do with their lives. My decision was to serve."
Who stays, who leaves, who fights - for Ukraine, this question has long become an existential part of defense, ARD concludes.
Suzanne Petersson (ARD)