Over 2,200 conscripts detained trying to flee Ukraine: Kiev
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Wanting to flee from the situation in Ukraine and a decree formulated by Zelensky forcing civilians onto the frontlines, Ukrainians tried to escape but were caught by the armed forces.
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Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbass region (AFP)
More than 2,200 male conscripts have been detained trying to flee from Ukraine since the beginning of the war, Kiev's Ministry of Interior said on Sunday.
On March 3, the Ukrainian Parliament, Verkhovna Rada, approved President Volodymyr Zelensky's decree on general mobilization, which applies to men aged 18 to 60.
"Nearly 2,200 men liable for military service were detained at the border. Some of them, with the hope of circumventing restrictions on traveling abroad," the ministry revealed.
They also claimed that "fraudsters" were behind the bids of helping the conscripts flee, alleging that they used "anonymous channels" to offer "illegal services", which saw them taking the conscripts' money and disappear.
Some conscripts tried to bribe border guards, leave the country with fake documents, or cross the border outside the checkpoints, the ministry said.
In addition to the conscripts, Zelensky has resorted to using foreign mercenaries and far-right battalions to fight his battles against Russia.
Russia had launched a special military operation in Ukraine due to NATO's eastward expansion, in addition to the Ukrainian shelling of Donbass, the killing of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic, as well as Moscow wanting to "denazify" and demilitarize Ukraine.
