A different kind of war is underway on Ukraine’s western border, as several young men do not want to go to the battlefield and are trying to flee abroad.

Videos show the vicious beating by authorities of men caught near the border with Romania trying to escape before they were recruited. However, others are succeeding. Many call them cowards, while others call them traitors.

“I am not an infidel. Many of my friends have already left. Whoever has the chance, leaves,” a young Ukrainian who decided to take the road abroad to avoid conscription told Sky News.

He crossed the border through the mountains, having paid a $6,000 fee to leave the country. “I need peace, for me mostly,” he says.

“These people are not ready to die. And young people are not ready to bury themselves alive. A lot of people come to us for help,” said one of the traffickers who admits he is not ashamed of his actions.

Arresting suspects for refusing to enlist

Right now, the authorities are trying to stop the problem. The army needs recruits. However, thousands of Ukrainians are trying to leave for Ukraine.

These men were caught near the border with Romania trying to flee Ukraine.

They are not the only ones who do not want to fight and are trying to avoid conscription

— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 11, 2024

Every week, the authorities arrest both people trying to escape and people suspected of refusing to enlist.

In December, Ukraine needed more than half a million new soldiers, an issue that the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had described as very sensitive.

The age limit for those called to report to the army is being lowered

Two years after the start of the war, it is mainly middle-aged men who have suffered injuries and are on the verge of exhaustion who are on the battlefield. The number of conscripts is decreasing and the army seems unable to cope with the needs of the war with Russia.

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The new bill passed today (11.4.2024) reduces the age of those called to report to the army from 27 to 25. The lawmakers’ goal is to find a solution to the problem of volunteer shortage.

But many believe that Ukraine will have to find other ways of recruitment, as in the coming months and after the bill’s passage, the number of young people leaving for abroad is expected to increase.