Ukraine’s SBU apprehends four more military and medical officials profiting from draft dodgers
Ukraine’s SBU security service has apprehended an additional four military personnel and commanders of military medical commissions (VLK) who were allegedly capitalizing on individuals seeking to evade conscription and flee abroad, the SBU reported on Telegram on Aug. 26.
These officials are accused of fabricating documents citing health-related reasons to declare individuals unfit for military service. The cost of such “services” reportedly ranged up to $10,000 per person, varying based on the timeline for “resolving matters” and the financial capacities of the “clients.”
The SBU carried out arrests in Kyiv, Odesa, and Kharkiv Oblast.
Among those detained in Kyiv were the head of a district military commissariat and a chief of a VLK in the capital, who were selling counterfeit medical certificates indicating serious medical conditions. Holders of such certificates could exploit them to avoid military obligations and depart the country.
Read also: Alleged 26-year-old poses as 15-year-old in audacious border crossing attempt
In Kharkiv Oblast, a district military commissariat head was arrested, alleged to have amassed over 11 million hryvnias ($300,000) from potential conscripts, according to SBU reports.
The fraudulent scheme also involved three personnel from a local hospital, who, in exchange for bribes, falsely diagnosed military conscripts with health issues. These fabricated health problems then served as formal grounds for their military discharge.
In Odesa, cybersecurity experts from the SBU dismantled a corrupt scheme in which the secretary of a local VLK was implicated.
Collaborating with a Kyiv-based lawyer and two accomplices, they orchestrated a vast distribution of falsified documents indicating unfitness for military service. This elaborate operation involved identifying clients nationwide and enlisting them at the Odesa military commissariat to effectively exempt them from military duty.
Currently, the secretary of this VLK and her accomplices have been apprehended “in the act”, according to SBU officials. They are now facing charges, and the question of preventative measures is under consideration. Conviction could lead to a prison sentence of up to 10 years, along with seizure of assets.
Read also: Zakarpattia border guards catch six ‘draft dodgers’ trying to cross border with Romania
On Aug. 17, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an order for the dismissal of the heads of all regional conscription centers, and their replacement with combat officers.
This decision follows a scandal involving former head of the Odesa Oblast’s military commissariat, Yevhen Borysov, who illicitly amassed 188 million hryvnias ($5 million) and whose family acquired a villa in Spain.
Zelenskyy also ordered a comprehensive review of military commissariats throughout Ukraine.
The government is also actively transitioning military commissariats to digital operations.
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