Law enforcement officials have documented dozens of cases of forged medical documents used by men of draft age to evade conscription, according to Vecherniy Kyiv and the PromPolitInform portal.
The defendants in the cases obtained false medical certificates claiming to be needed to care for people with disabilities, or other documents that provided grounds for deferment from conscription or early termination of military service.
In some cases, the individuals they were allegedly caring for had no established disability or did not require constant supervision. Medical reports containing false information about the men’s health were also discovered, according to the National Police.
Furthermore, law enforcement officials have established instances in which military personnel used fictitious certificates to illegally terminate their service and receive legally required payments. In particular, the case of a 34-year-old resident of Odesa was documented. He resigned from the Ukrainian Armed Forces based on a military medical commission’s conclusion that he was unfit for service. Afterward, the man received monetary compensation and subsequently secured guardianship of his disabled mother-in-law to avoid re-mobilization. The investigation established that there were no actual medical grounds for his discharge, and the documents submitted contained false information.
As part of the investigation, police conducted 128 searches at the residences of the defendants and their vehicles across 20 regions of Ukraine and Kyiv.
During the investigation, funds, mobile phones, computer equipment, medication stamps, medical records with signs of falsity, and draft notes were seized.
Based on the materials collected, investigators issued notices of suspicion to 110 military personnel and civilians. Their actions are classified under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including draft evasion, document forgery, fraud, unauthorized absence from a military unit, and illegal transportation of persons across the state border.
The defendants face up to ten years in prison.
Operatives from the Department of Strategic Investigations and investigators from the Main Investigative Department of the National Police of Ukraine acted jointly with the State Bureau of Investigation and internal security officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
