Ukraine targets draft evasion schemes as Council of Europe assesses violence prevention

Ukrainian law enforcement and intelligence agencies have uncovered several schemes aimed at evading military service and targeting defense personnel. In Kyiv Oblast, prosecutors dismantled a network of private educational institutions charging draft-eligible men an initial $10,000 fee and $700 monthly payments for fictitious teaching roles to secure deferments. Simultaneously, the State Bureau of Investigations charged three individuals involved in smuggling servicemen away from active duty stations for fees between $5,000 and $13,000. Investigations also highlighted fraudulent marriages with women with disabilities as an increasingly common deferment tactic.

In counterintelligence, the Security Service of Ukraine reported thwarting over 50 Russian intelligence operations involving recruited women targeting military personnel on staged dates. Separately, the Council of Europe published its inaugural evaluation assessing Ukraine's progress in implementing the Istanbul Convention on combating domestic and gender-based violence.

Sources: Liga net, NV, Radio Svoboda, Slidstvo.Info, Ukrainska Pravda