Police uncover interregional network helping soldiers desert military service
Ukraine’s National Police has exposed an interregional criminal group that illegally transported servicemen out of military units to help them evade service in the country’s Security and Defense Forces.
According to Ukrinform, the announcement was made by the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police of Ukraine.
“Operational data indicate that since November 2025, members of the group have been involved in at least ten cases of illegally removing servicemen from military units,” the statement said.
Investigators say the group operated across the Volyn, Lviv, Rivne, Zhytomyr, and Chernivtsi regions. The suspects searched for servicemen seeking to abandon their posts without authorization, organized their escape, and helped them hide afterward.
The cost of such “services” reportedly ranged from $8,000 to $15,000, depending on the complexity of the operation and the level of secrecy required.
According to police, the suspects used rented vehicles, changed license plates, employed GPS trackers, and communicated through dedicated mobile phones to avoid detection.
Authorities also say the group relied on corrupt connections within medical institutions to arrange fake treatment for servicemen at civilian hospitals, from which they were later allegedly “abducted” to facilitate their disappearance from military service.
The suspects reportedly used coded language and various covert methods during communications.
During a special operation, law enforcement officers carried out 23 searches in the Volyn and Rivne regions at the suspects’ residences and in vehicles used by the group. Police seized weapons – including unregistered firearms – along with cars, phones, medical documents, and handwritten records.
On May 7, officers, supported by the TOR tactical patrol police unit, detained the alleged organizer and two accomplices while they were reportedly carrying out another “extraction” of a serviceman and receiving $8,000 in payment.
Another member of the group was detained under Article 615 of Ukraine’s Criminal Procedure Code. Police also detained three servicemen who had allegedly left their units without authorization.
Six individuals – including members of the group and servicemen accused of unauthorized absence – have received official notices of suspicion.
Depending on their alleged roles, the suspects are being investigated under Part 5 of Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized abandonment of a military unit or place of service) and Part 4 of Article 408 (desertion).
All suspects have been placed under preventive measures.
As previously reported by Ukrinform, a man in Kyiv allegedly offered military draft deferments in exchange for money.