Ukrainian authorities detained 41 men of middle age hiding in a grain truck that was traveling to the southwestern border of Ukraine with Romania and Moldova, reported DPA, quoted by BTA. The vehicle was checked at night near the village of Novosilske, the border police said. The settlement is only a few kilometers from the border with both countries.
Investigative actions have been initiated against the detained men for attempting to cross the border illegally. The detainees are from 12 Ukrainian regions and are between the ages of 18 and 60, making them eligible for military conscription and participation in repelling the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Two other men suspected of assisting illegal border crossing are also being investigated.
According to another announcement, the border guard detained a man in the Carpathians near the border with Romania. He called an emergency number after being injured in a cliff fall.
The man, also of legal age, is from the southern Kherson region.
From the start of the war in February 2022, martial law was imposed and mobilization was ordered. Since then, men of legal age have been allowed to leave Ukraine only under exceptional circumstances.
However, every day dozens attempt to evade military service by crossing the border illegally.