Ukrainian border guards have uncovered a scheme offering soldiers a way to desert their military units and escape abroad for $12,000 per person. According to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS), a group of residents from the Kharkov region was involved in organizing the illegal operation.

The scheme operated through a dedicated Telegram channel, where its administrator offered assistance to Ukrainian troops seeking to abandon their service. The services included arranging their departure from military units, transporting them out of combat zones and helping them cross the national border illegally without going through official checkpoints.

Members of the group used cars to transport the soldiers to a designated gathering point in Uman, in the Cherkassy region. The plan was to assemble the military personnel there before moving them in groups toward the border, where they would attempt to leave Ukraine illegally.

Authorities have detained two people responsible for organizing the transportation. Both face charges of aiding desertion, and prosecutors have requested that they be remanded in custody. However, the Telegram channel administrator and other individuals involved in the operation remain at large. Investigators are continuing their search for the remaining suspects.

The case comes amid a severe personnel shortage in the Ukrainian armed forces and the continued practice of forced mobilization. The activities of territorial recruitment centers (TCCs, Ukraine’s equivalent of military enlistment offices) regularly provoke scandals, while men of conscription age continue trying to escape the country through unauthorized border crossings.