Ukraine: The men who don’t want to fight
Thousands of Ukrainian men are dodging the draft and risking their lives in the process. Some face either a swim across a fast-moving river or a trek over snow-covered mountains
For more than 15 months the Ukrainian armed forces have held out against the superior numbers of the Russian invasion force. But not every Ukrainian man subject to the draft is willing to fight. More than 6,000 Ukrainian men of military age have been granted protection in Romania since the beginning of the war, according to figures supplied by the Romanian immigration authority. Some left Ukraine in order to avoid the draft. Others served on the front before throwing down their weapons.
Romania has a 600-kilometre border with Ukraine, which is difficult to cross. The choice is either a short swim across a fast-moving river or a long trek over snow-covered mountains. A number of those who’ve tried have died in the attempt. Nick Thorpe has been to the border region to meet Ukrainian men who don’t want to fight in the war.
(Photo: Ukrainian military personnel crouching in a trench. Credit: Reuters)
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