What Possible Legal Consequences Await Men Who Leave Ukraine Illegally During Martial Law: New Legislative Initiatives and Criminal Liability
Since Ukraine declared nationwide mobilization and introduced martial law, discussions have intensified around the legal repercussions for men who choose to leave the country.
As part of these developments, the government has submitted a new bill to the Verkhovna Rada aimed at significantly strengthening penalties for illegal border crossing.
Currently, attempts to cross the border in unauthorized places or with forged documents only involve administrative fines, but the proposed legislation aims to escalate this to criminal liability.
According to the draft law, attempting to illegally cross the Ukrainian border outside designated checkpoints or using fake documents could result in a fine ranging from 51,000 to 170,000 hryvnias or imprisonment for up to three years.
Additional penalties include sanctions for intentionally damaging border infrastructure, which could lead to imprisonment or restrictions of up to three years.
Lawyer Olena Khomenko from the «Aktum» law firm explained that at present, unauthorized border crossing is criminally unenforced, but this could change with the new law.
She noted that if a person voluntarily reports their illegal crossing within three months, they may be exempt from criminal responsibility.
However, the legislation has yet to be adopted, and its implementation will require amendments to the current criminal code.
Experts believe that once passed, the law will make criminal liability for illegal border crossings unavoidable.
This signals a shift towards stricter control over military reservists attempting to evade conscription by leaving the country.
Importantly, lawmakers seek to strengthen oversight while also considering protections against unjust persecution in individual cases of voluntary self-reporting.
Earlier, lawyer Maria Ganina clarified the conditions under which employees with valid leave can exit Ukraine amid martial law.