5,000 men illegally left the country due to imperfect legal framework – TSK VR

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, 5,000 men have illegally left the country. More than 7,000 criminal cases have been opened regarding illegal border crossing, but there are more than 400 actual court verdicts. Such statistics on the illegal crossing of the Ukrainian border by men, announced during the meeting of the Temporary Special Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (TSC), were published on her Facebook page by People's Deputy of the IX convocation, lawyer Yulia Yatsyk, reports UNN.

Details

According to Yulia Yatsyk, at the TSC meeting with the participation of representatives of the State Border Guard Service, Deputy Head of the National Police Andriy Nebytov, Deputy Prosecutor General Ihor Mustetsa, Deputy Minister of Community and Territories Development Serhiy Derkach, Deputy Head of the SBU Serhiy Andrushchenko, facts of detentions of men during illegal border crossing were provided.

According to the DPS, since the beginning of 2022, almost 30,000 people have been detained while trying to illegally cross the border. Another 44,900 people illegally crossed the border. Pre-trial investigation bodies have initiated more than 7,000 criminal cases related to illegal border crossing, but there are slightly more than 400 actual court verdicts

Clarification

As the participants of the TSC meeting noted, men tried to cross the state border using: forged documents on removal from military registration; certificates of the MMC on unfitness for military service, on the status of large families, or court decisions on the maintenance of children; documents on the status of a higher education applicant, treatment or rehabilitation abroad; passports of foreign countries.

Cases of crossing the line of contact with subsequent departure abroad through the temporarily occupied territory and the Russian Federation, and departure through the "Shlyakh" system (as a driver who transports medical and humanitarian cargo or a driver of international cargo and passenger transportation) were also recorded.

There were also attempts to travel abroad on the basis of letters from state and law enforcement agencies to the State Border Guard Service with requests to assist those liable for military service in crossing the state border.

Problems

Yulia Yatsyk also outlined the problems of controlling illegal border crossings identified at the TSC meeting:

• lack of legal grounds for border guards to check documents;
• there is no clear list of documents that border guards should require from a person when crossing the border (now, in each specific case, the decision is made personally, based on general norms and logic);
• the electronic system of border guards does not store copies (scans) of documents that are the basis for a person to cross the state border, so it is impossible to verify the legality of such crossing;
• border guards do not monitor the return of a person who left within the established period, which leads to frequent cases of non-return of athletes, civil servants, etc., as well as to untimely notification of law enforcement agencies about such facts;
• letters from the HUR, VCA, and state bodies are of an uncontrolled and corrupt nature (the TSC requested information on this matter for verification).

As the participants of the TSC meeting noted, all the outlined problems regarding the proper control of border crossing require increased attention from the legislative and executive authorities.  

Reference

The Temporary Special Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (TSC) is a collegial temporary body of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which is formed from among the people's deputies of Ukraine to prepare and preliminary consider issues, in accordance with Article 89 of the Constitution of Ukraine.

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