Ukraine arrests foreigner helping draft dodgers flee to Moldova for $1,500

A foreigner who helped Ukrainians escape conscription in the fight against Russia was detained on Thursday, the Ukrainian border service said.

According to Al Jazeera, while the detained foreigner’s nationality was not mentioned, the border service on Telegram said that the man had organised an underground railroad to help Ukrainian draft-dodgers escape the fighting in the eastern European country.

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The media outlet further reported that the unnamed foreigner had been charging $1,500 per head to illegally escort Ukrainian draft-dodgers to neighbouring Moldova, where hundreds of thousands of civilians from Ukraine have taken refuge since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24.

The news of the man’s arrest comes amid reports of a crackdown by Ukrainian authorities on able-bodied people looking to escape conscription in the fight against Russia: over the past month, Ukraine has reportedly detained dozens of draft-dodgers, most of whom could face up to nine years in prison for trying to escape the conflict.

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It also comes on a day when Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an address to NATO leaders, made an impassioned plea for advanced weaponry from the West for his countrymen in the fight against Russia.

Speaking to NATO leaders via a video call from Kyiv, the 44-year-old called for “military assistance without limitations,” saying that Russia was operating “without limits [and] using its entire arsenal.”

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Zelensky, in particular, asked for anti-air and anti-ship weapons to even the odds with Russia, which has much superior military capabilities compared to its neighbour.

The 44-year-old further asked NATO for “1% of all your planes, 1% of all your tanks,” adding, “When we will have all this, it will give us, just like you, 100% security.”