Thirty men have died trying to leave Ukraine to avoid fighting since the start of the war.

By Oleksandr Kozhukhar

kyiv (Reuters) – Around 30 Ukrainian men have died trying to illegally cross Ukraine’s borders and avoid fighting in the war against Russia that begins in 2022, Ukraine’s border service spokesman told Reuters. the Ukrinform news agency.

“Some lost their lives trying to cross a mountain river or cross mountains,” Andriy Demchenko said, according to a report by Ukrinform on Monday evening.

“Overall, since the start of the large-scale invasion, approximately 30 people have died trying to cross the border illegally.”

With few exceptions, Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are not allowed to leave the country because they could be drafted to fight, in accordance with Ukraine’s martial law.

On Monday, the National Border Guard Service said in a statement on social media that 24 men alone had died while trying to cross the Tisa River on Ukraine’s border with Romania.

Demchenko said that since the start of the war, border guards have discovered about 450 criminal groups trying to smuggle people across the border.

“Attempts to cross the border illegally occur every day,” Demchenko said. “Most of these attempts take place outside the border checkpoints with Moldova and Romania. The largest number of false documents is registered at the border with Poland.”

Earlier in April, Demchenko told Ukrainian national television that on average, about 10 men are arrested every day when they try to leave Ukraine illegally.

Last week, Ukraine suspended consular services for male citizens of military age until May 18, criticizing Ukrainians abroad who it said expected to receive assistance from the state without helping it fight for its survival in the war against Russia.

In November, the BBC said in a report based on data on illegal border crossings from Romania, Moldova, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, that almost 20,000 men had fled Ukraine since start of the war to avoid being conscripted.

(Written by Lidia Kelly in Lisbon; edited by Michael Perry)