According to the State Border Guard Service, the most attempts at illegal border crossing are currently recorded on the stretch bordering Romania, while on the border with Poland – the fewest. This information was announced on August 27 by the service’s spokesperson, Andriy Demchenko.
According to the representative, the situation with border crossing remains tense: the highest activity is on the direction toward Romania, followed by sections with Moldova, and other sectors are characterized by a smaller number of such cases, in particular with Hungary and Slovakia. The fewest attempts – outside border crossing points – are on the stretch with Poland.
“Regarding attempts to illegally cross the border, they, unfortunately, continue, and the most such cases we record at the border with Romania. In second place is the border with Moldova. In other areas these attempts occur in somewhat smaller numbers. Well, this is primarily the border with Hungary and Slovakia. And the least, when talking about attempts to illegally cross the border outside border crossing points, occur at the border with Poland,”
– Andriy Demchenko
Every day, about ten people attempt to leave Ukraine using forged documents. Demchenko emphasized that for such violations criminal liability applies, in particular for an attempt to forge documents, and offenders are handed over to law enforcement authorities. For cases outside border crossing points, administrative liability is imposed.
“Unfortunately, such accountability does not deter violators, because there are cases when we detain people multiple times. There are “record-holders” whom we detain more than 10 times for continuing to attempt to cross the border illegally,” the official said.
“Unfortunately, such accountability does not deter violators, because there are cases when we detain people multiple times. There are “record-holders” whom we detain more than 10 times for continuing to attempt to illegally cross the border”
– The official
The State Border Guard Service is also working to uncover schemes and criminal groups that promise help with illegal border crossing. For such services, organizers demanded from 5 to 12 thousand dollars, Demchenko said.
According to him, organizers face criminal liability under Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Earlier, the government submitted Bill No. 13673 on liability for violations related to crossing the state border, which provides transferring the consideration of administrative cases of illegal border crossing to the State Border Guard Service.
Changes in border crossing rules and legal consequences
On August 26, the government updated the procedure for crossing the state border. The changes affected that now men aged 18 to 22 can leave the country without hindrance during martial law. Previously, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, exit was prohibited for conscripts aged 18 to 60 – exceptions applied to students of foreign educational institutions, volunteers, drivers, and parents with many children.
The new decision is aimed at improving management of migration processes and strengthening border crossing control in the face of current challenges, including martial law and the associated migration dynamics.