Ukraine may seek extradition of military-aged men from EU – senior MP – RT Russia and the former Soviet Union
Those who bribed officials or forged documents to flee the country should be prosecuted, David Arakhamia said.
Military-age Ukrainians who left the country amid mobilization could be forcibly sent home to stand trial, Ukrainian lawmaker David Arakhamia told state television on Thursday. Those who managed to flee by bribing officials or falsifying certificates purporting to prove them unfit for military service should be prosecuted, he added.
Ukraine is now actively developing its “international legal aid” mechanisms, said Arakhamia, who leads President Vladimir Zelensky’s Servant of the People party faction in parliament.
“Our law enforcement officials can file extradition requests against such people in virtually any country in the world except Russia,” he added. said the deputy. “What will happen to the people who did this? They will be prosecuted… for bribery, falsifying documents and dodging mobilization.”
His remarks come just a day after Kyiv announced its intention to review all plans for exemptions to “agreement” with any “clearly unfounded and illegal” decisions that spared potential conscripts from being mobilized and sent to the front.
The head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), Alexei Danilov, said Kyiv was in the process of deploying a “newly approved” plan further mobilization, calling as many men as needed to continue the fighting.
In early August, Zelensky sacked all regional conscription commissioners, following a series of corruption scandals uncovered by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). Ukrainian authorities have opened 112 criminal cases against conscription officials, alleging they charged them between $6,000 and $10,000 for fraudulent medical exemptions from military service.
According to the BBC, the Ukrainians seem unwilling to be conscripted and reconstitute their army. “constant” heavy losses in the ongoing conflict with Russia. Social media groups, which sometimes have as many as 100,000 members, have sprung up in various Ukrainian regions to share ways to avoid conscription, the British channel said. Nearly 20,000 draft dodgers were captured as they attempted to flee the country, the Financial Times reported citing official figures.
This new surge of mobilization comes as kyiv grapples with its high-profile counter-offensive against Russian forces, launched in early June. According to Russian Defense Ministry estimates in early August, Ukraine lost at least 43,000 troops and around 5,000 pieces of heavy equipment in the first two months of fighting.
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