Journalists identified 2,248 men of military age who, during a full-scale war, left Ukraine through the Shlyakh system and did not return.
This is stated in the investigation of NGL.media – an independent anti-corruption center founded by a group of journalists.
The Shlyakh system was created to eliminate corruption risks when issuing permits and licenses for international cargo transportation. During a full-scale war, with its help, drivers of military age can cross the border if they are transporting humanitarian or medical supplies for the army and the population.
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To obtain permission, it is enough to contact the regional military administration. The investigation refers to permits issued by the Lviv Regional Police Department.
– We found hundreds of public organizations and charitable foundations involved in the flight of men of military age from the country. We found out the names and surnames of 2,248 men who left with permission from the Lviv OVA and did not return, — noted in the investigation.
This is data for the periodfrom June 2022 to February 2023.
According to journalists, “service” traveling abroad costs on the black marketfrom $3 thousand to $5 thousand per person. So we can talk about a total amount of “tens of millions of dollars”.
The journalists decided not to publish the names of draft dodgers, but talked about public and charitable organizations that “consciously or unconsciously contributed to them” by submitting requests to travel to the Lviv OBA.
In total, journalists identified 372 such organizations. The investigation tells about 30 organizations from which the largest number of men did not return from abroad.
“Record holders” became two organizations operating at the same address in the city of Nikolaev (Lviv region): this is a cell of the all-Ukrainian society Prosvita and the NGO Theater Bread. About 200 men were able to escape abroad from these organizations, the investigation says.
Requests to the Lviv OVA on behalf of the Prosvita cell were written by its head Natalya Mukha, who also runs the local Khleb folk theater. And from the NGO – its leader Roman Zbudovsky, a participant in the specified folk theater.
Journalists note that some draft dodgers could flee the country without permission, without the knowledge of the leadership of these organizations.
The list also includes: the Anti-Corruption Commission in the city of Sambir and the Revival of our Ukraine. According to media estimates, more than 100 people left them and never returned. Journalists claim that the head of the second organization allowed its use “in exchange for him being taken abroad”.
Currently, the activities of both organizations are being studied in a criminal investigation.
Another person involved in the investigation is the Stepan Bandera Charitable Foundation, from which almost 40 men left.
Got into the “rating” and a group of related volunteer organizations: Clean Kyiv, Bayraktar, Our Good Deeds, Ukrainian Guild of Activists, Concerned Citizens, Ukrainian Javelin, Public Environmental Initiative, Ukrainian Seals. According to media estimates, more than 200 men of military age left them and did not return.
The list of organizations from which the most men went abroad includes the Legion of Sichovy Streltsy and Ray of Our Hope foundations. According to the journalists, their phones are switched off or disabled, and there is no information about their activities. The funds are officially registered in Lviv, but their founders are registered on the same street in Truskavets. About 150 people did not return from these organizations.
The Ridna Nenka Foundation, from which, according to media estimates, 23 people left, responded that “such names were not submitted at all on the lists for inclusion in the Shlyakh system.” When the former head of the fund was shown copies of applications to the OVA with his name, he stated that “these are not our signatures and not our seals.”
Journalists also discovered 39 men who left the Fund to Make Your Dream Come True. The organization claims that it sent letters to the Lviv OVA to only ten of them, but several people had access to the fund’s press for a long time. The head of the organization has already written a statement to the police.
The leaders of several other funds (World of Love and Sports of the Nation) stopped answering calls from journalists when they learned about the essence of the issue.
Earlier in the temporary investigative commission The Verkhovna Rada reported that at the end of April, almost 19 thousand men of military age left through Shlyakh and did not return.
After the scandals surrounding the abuse of the Shlyakh system, the government decided to introduce changes to the legislation. We are talking, in particular, about a mandatory electronic digital signature. It is also proposed that only organizations with experience can enter drivers into the system.
In addition, information exchange is planned between the databases of the State Border Service and the Ministry of Defense on military personnel. This will help border guards know exactly whether a certain person was issued documents for departure, and will eliminate the possibility of using counterfeit documents.
