CHISINAU, Moldova – Vova Klever, a successful, young fashion photographer from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, did not find herself in this fight.
“Violence is not my weapon,” he said.
So shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, Mr. Klever snuck out, violating Ukrainian law that forbids men of military age from leaving the country.
Mr Klever’s mistake, which would have dire consequences, was to write a letter to a friend about being smuggled out and take it to London.
The friend betrayed his trust and posted their conversation on social media. It went viral, and Ukrainians across the internet exploded with anger and discontent.
“You are a walking dead person,” one message on Twitter said. “I’ll find you in any corner of the world.”
The notion that people – especially men – are leaving war-torn Ukraine for safe and comfortable lives abroad has created a moral dilemma among Ukrainians that makes a one of the most important decisions man can make: fight or flee.
According to records from regional law enforcement officials and interviews with people inside and outside Ukraine, thousands of men of military age have fled the country to avoid fighting. Rings smuggled in Moldova, and possibly other European countries, are running fast business. Some people paid up to $15,000 for a secret overnight trip out of Ukraine, Moldovan officials said.
The draft Dodgers are a big exception. That makes it all the more complicated for them – morally, socially and practically. Ukrainian society was mobilized for the fight against a much larger enemy, and countless Ukrainians with no military experience volunteered for the war. To maximize its force, the Ukrainian government has taken the extreme step of banning men between 18 and 60 from leaving, with few exceptions.
All of this forced Ukrainian men who did not want to serve to take illegal routes into Hungary, Moldova and Poland and other neighboring countries. Even among those convinced they ran away for good reasons, some said they felt guilt and shame.
“I don’t think I can be a good soldier right now in this war,” said a Ukrainian computer programmer named Volodymyr, who left shortly after the war started and did not want to be revealed. his last name, said. .
“Look at me,” said Volodymyr, as he sat drinking beer in a pub in Warsaw. “I wear glasses. I’m 46. I don’t look like a classic fighter, some Rambo can fight the Russian army”.
He took another sip and stared at his glass.
“Yes, I am embarrassed,” he said. “I ran away from this war, and that was probably my crime.”
Ukrainian politicians have threatened to send the cowherds to prison and confiscate their homes. But in Ukrainian society, feelings are more divided.
The majority of the refugees are women and children, who have faced little backlash. But that is not the case with young men. As As cities continued to be battered by Russian bombs, many Ukrainians were unfazed by draft fugitives.
This is what sparked the young photographer.
In mid-March, Olga Lepina, who has worked as a model and model agent, said Mr Klever had sent her husband a text message saying he had arrived in London.
Her husband wrote back: “Wow! How?”
“Through Hungary with smugglers for five thousand dollars,” Klever replied, according to a screenshot of the conversation provided by Ms Lepina. “But that’s just between us, shut up!”
Ms Lepina said she and Mr Klever had been friends for many years. She even went to his wedding. She also left France, with her husband, who is not a citizen of Ukraine. But as war approached, she said, Mr. Klever became fiercely patriotic and somewhat cyber-bullied. When she found out he was avoiding her, she was so angry she posted a screenshot of the conversation on Instagram.
“For me, it is hypocritical to leave the country and pay for it,” she explains. “I just decided to bring it to the public. He needs to take responsibility for his words.”
Mr Klever, in his 20s, has been hit by hate-filled messages, including death threats. Some Ukrainians are outraged that he used his wealth to get out, calling it “fraud”.
Responding to questions via email, Mr Klever did not deny skipping his service and said he has poor eyesight and “has been going through a lot lately”.
“You can’t even imagine the hatred,” he said.
Mr Klever has given conflicting accounts of exactly how he left the country and declined to provide details. But for many other Ukrainian men, Moldova has become a favored trapdoor.
Moldova shares a nearly 800-mile border with western Ukraine. And unlike Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, Moldova is not part of the European Union, meaning it has significantly fewer resources to control its borders. It is one of the poorest countries in Europe and a hub trafficking and organized crime.
Moldovan officials say that within days of the war breaking out, Moldovan gangs posted ads on Telegram, a popular messaging service in Eastern Europe, offering to arrange cars, even minibus, to prevent scammers.
Russo-Ukrainian War: Main developments
Law enforcement officials say the typical method is for smugglers and Ukrainians to choose a rendezvous point along Moldova’s “green border,” the term used for border areas without goods. fence and meet at night.
On a recent night, a contingent of Moldovan border guards trudged across the endless, flat wheat fields, their boots submerged in mud, looking for bison. There were no border posts, only the faint lights of a Ukrainian village and the sound of dogs barking in the dark.
Out here, one can walk in and out of Ukraine.
Moldovan officials say that since the end of February, they have busted more than 20 smuggling hubs, including several well-known criminal enterprises. In return, they arrested 1,091 people illegally crossing the border. Officials said all were Ukrainian men.
Once caught, these men have a choice. If they do not want to be sent back, they can apply for asylum in Moldova, and cannot be deported.
But if they don’t apply for asylum, they could be handed over to Ukrainian authorities, who, Moldovan officials say, have pressured them to bring them back. Moldovan officials say the majority of those who entered illegally, around 1,000, have applied for asylum, and less than 100 have been returned. Another two thousand Ukrainian men who entered Moldova legally have also applied for asylum.
Volodymyr Danuliv is one of them. He refused to fight in the war, though the prospect of death didn’t worry him, he said. That is murder.
Mr. Danuliv, 50, said: “I can’t shoot the Russians.
He explained that his siblings were married to Russians and his two grandsons were serving in the Russian Army – in Ukraine.
“How can I fight this war?” he asks. “I can kill my own family.”
Myroslav Hai, an official with Ukraine’s military reserve, admits, “There are people who shirk the mobilization, but their ratio to volunteers is not that great.” Other Ukrainian officials said men whose ideologies or religions oppose the war could serve in other ways, such as cooks or chauffeurs.
But none of the more than a dozen men interviewed for this article seemed interested. Mr. Danuliv, a businessman from western Ukraine, said he did not want to get involved in the war. When asked if he was afraid of being ostracized or embarrassed, he shook his head.
“I didn’t kill anyone. That’s important to me,” he said. “I don’t care what people say.”
What happens when the war ends? How much resentment will arise towards those who have gone? These are questions that Ukrainians, men and women, are beginning to ask.
When Mrs. Lepina embarrassed Mr. Klever, she was no longer in Ukraine. She also left for France. Every day, she says, she struggles with guilt.
“People are suffering in Ukraine, and I want to be there to help them, to support them,” she said. “But at the same time I’m safe and I want to be here.”
“It was a very vague and complicated feeling,” she said.
And she knew she would be judged.
“Of course there will be some who divide Ukrainian citizens between those who have left and those who have stayed,” she said. “I’m ready for that.”
Siergiej Greczuszkin contributed reporting from Warsaw, and Daria Mychkovska from Przemysl, Poland.
