bribes, schemes… How those resistant to mobilization try to escape the authorities

About him we must say as little as possible. Especially not his real identity, even less his profession, just his age group. When we meet him in a cafe in Kharkiv, Friday September 8, Ivan* is visibly concerned. “I am 99% sure that I will be mobilized soon.” Like many of his compatriots, the forty-year-old fears every second of being called up by the army. “Today, I live in constant anxiety about receiving a summons”says this shy man, with an emaciated face.

There were many volunteers at the start of the war to join the front. But now, they hardly crowd in front of the military police stations. While the counter-offensive launched at the beginning of the summer is still struggling to obtain significant results, the Ukrainian army sometimes has to enlist inexperienced men. Ivan, unemployed for months, has no military background. Which does not protect him from recruiters, posted in the street to issue summons. “Two days ago, I saw them in the street. They always move in threes, with the same green coat and a file in their hand. I quickly turned around.” Out of fear, he reduces his travels as much as possible and never leaves his house “without good reason”.

Martial law prohibits men aged between 18 and 60 from leaving the country, with exceptions. To try to escape Ukraine, Ivan therefore turned to illegal means. Last year, he spent 2,000 euros to buy false documents on the internet, supposed to exempt him from his military obligations. The father places the document on the table. In line 13, the certificate recommends a “hospital treatment and thermal stays two to three times a year” for alleged bronchial asthma. His anonymous interlocutor, who cannot now be reached, then demanded an additional 700 euros from him, citing changes in the law. Ivan did not fall into the trap again. For this unusable piece of paper, he now risks up to two years in prison.

Military doctors accused of corruption

Ivan is not the only one living in fear of arrest. In Kharkiv, a Telegram channel followed by 116,000 people makes it possible to report the presence of military commissioners in public places. “Metro Barabashova, five green men started the morning nightmare”, “Studencheskaya, near the exit from the Academy, they are resting on a bench”… A real game of cat and mouse. Franceinfo tried several times to go to the indicated positions, in vain. The police officers, too, watch the messages carefully to adapt patrols. These tools are taken very seriously by the authorities. Last June, in kyiv, the creator of a Telegram channel of this type was sentenced to five years in prison.

But Ukraine faces another, more systemic challenge: corruption within its institutions. In mid-August, President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the heads of all regional recruitment centers. Then inspections were launched in all the country’s military medical commissions – the VLK – in order to verify the reasons for exemption issued since the start of the war. Bribery cases spare no region and scandalize public opinion. In Kharkiv, three doctors were arrested last month for issuing certificates of convenience for payment.

“The medical document which mentions health problems is the most widespread means of protecting oneself from mobilization”, confirms Igor Chub, chief of staff of the regional prosecutor. Corruption files pile up in his imposing office in the center of Kharkiv. His voice strengthens: “These are cases that occupy us. Since the start of the war, we have opened 350 investigations, 103 have been closed, and 66 will be the subject of a trial.”

Each time, a long and tedious job. “It is quite simple to prove the use of convenience documents, develops Igor Chub. On the other hand, proving that there was an exchange of money is much more complicated.” It is indeed necessary to collect material evidence, such as a video or an audio message. “But you can imagine that these transactions take place as discreetly as possible.”

Divorce or study to escape the army

Since the start of the war, the sums claimed for these certificates of convenience have increased. Sometimes more than 10,000 euros, according to sources contacted by franceinfo. A fortune, in this country where the average salary peaks at around 385 euros. “Currently, you have to pay an average of $5,000 to obtain a medical exemption, via an intermediary”assesses a Ukrainian official, on condition of anonymity. “Believe me, if you want to leave, you find this money. In people’s minds, the choice is simple: leave or get killed?”

The authorities have no estimate of the number of resisters. “Of course, people try to avoid mobilization, but this is a minorityassures Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the national police in Kharkiv. Most often, those arrested cite family and personal reasons, rather than political or ideological ones.” To identify them, the police most often rely on reports from people who have been solicited financially. “They assist us during the investigation, in order to document proof of a money transfer.”

The national police, however, are primarily mobilized on the 15,000 war crimes investigations opened in the region. Only around ten investigators, out of the 500 in the service, work on corruption cases linked to the mobilization. “While the vast majority of the country is fighting the aggressor, many have lost loved ones and friends, it is our duty to identify all those who are fleeing their obligations, insists Volodymyr Tymoshko. For us, this is a question of social justice.” The police even call on citizens to report acts of corruption, telling them “guaranteeing anonymity” and promising “financial rewards” for the biggest deals, up to 10% of the amounts involved.

The media coverage of the cases is already having its effects. “My intermediary warned me by SMS that he was going to put these medical certificates of convenience on hold for a whilewrites a resident of kyiv to franceinfo. He told me that we have to be very careful at the moment, because of the fight against corruption.” Some resisters are therefore exploring other, more legal options. Obtaining custody of children after a divorce allows you to be exempt. Continue or resume studies, too.

By opportunism, “one of my friends was ready to pay 50,000 hryvnias (1,300 euros) per year for four years,” to pursue higher educationsays Oleh, music teacher. “A 50-year-old man also showed up at my school to collect a copy of their diploma certificate”, obtained decades earlier. This sudden interest owed nothing to nostalgia: “He needed it to enroll at university, and thus escape the mobilization.” The authorities are not fooled either. In the Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, a bill now plans to extend recruitment to students enrolled in a second course, although they are currently protected. “You teach me”replies a Kharkiv student met in Shevchenko Park, without appearing upset.

A general mobilization still taboo

The texts, it is true, have already evolved several times. Until July, relatives of a sick or disabled person were exempt. Now they can be called if another loved one is available to help. Andriï Parkulab, lawyer specializing in military advice, presents a current case: “I have the case of two sons and their bedridden father. Is it up to the army to choose which one should stay at the father’s side?” The mobilization law, when it is not circumvented, can give rise to legitimate misunderstandings. “The rules were invented in peacetime and they are not always very clear.”

Furthermore, it is difficult to challenge medical fitness decisions. It takes months to obtain a court decision. “But either the person has already been mobilized, and it’s far too late. Or they have remained hidden all this time, and risked prison.”

In Ukraine, whatever happens, no one seems ready to take the step of general mobilization to supply the front. At the end of August, former Defense Minister Oleksiï Reznikov declared that the priority was to clean up the commissars and military doctors. This debate finds an echo in the ranks of the army. “The whole country cannot fight”, says a young volunteer, who is taking advantage, at a run, of a two-hour leave in the city center. “We need people to run the country and its economy.”

“Should we recruit more men? Obviously!”replies Sergei – “Gremlin” by his nom de guerre –, a mortar loader-shooter encountered near Kostiantynivkain the Donetsk region. “But not just anyone. I don’t want to have to deal with guys who don’t want to fight. That would add danger to danger.” Before returning to his position, he blurted out: “Mobilization is a very sensitive subject. Some of those close to me still don’t understand why I decided to leave my job as an electrician to go fire missiles.”

* The first name has been changed at the request of the person interviewed.