Recruitment office officials in Zakarpattia illegally “wrote off” more than 1,5 thousand men

In Zakarpattia, law enforcement officers uncovered a large-scale scheme for illegally striking military-eligible individuals from military registration, which, according to investigators, operated for 2022–2024 years. At least 1577 men were removed from the registry without legal grounds. This is reported by Glavkom, citing Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

Investigators consider the organizers to be the then head of the Mukachevo district Territorial Center on Recruitment and Social Support (TCRC) and his subordinate, who was responsible for military registration and booking.

According to law enforcement, false information was entered into military registration, medical, and other official documents. On this basis, military registrants were deemed unfit for military service and were removed from the register without proper grounds.

For this “service,” as the investigation claims, the defendants received between $ and 5 hryvnias up to between $ and 10 hryvnias. In total, this method illegally “struck” at least 1577 people, of whom 1142 allegedly were deemed unfit due to health.

Documents were attempted to be destroyed. When the threat of exposing the scheme arose, the defendants, according to investigators, began disposing of documentation. In August 2024, the then head of the district TCRC allegedly issued a fictitious act of seizure, after which certificates, VLK decisions, and other medical documents were destroyed. By law, they had to be kept for 75 years.

Law enforcement managed to restore the necessary information with the help of data from the National Health Service of Ukraine, witness statements, results of examinations, and other materials. Currently 120 people have already been reinstated on military registration. The verification of the remaining cases continues.

As part of the investigation, law enforcement conducted 17 searches of current and former employees of Mukachevo RTC and SP, members of the VLK, and other defendants. Two former officials were charged with hindering the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a special period.

Prosecutors will petition for a preventive measure in the form of detention without the possibility of bail. The investigation continues. Law enforcement is establishing the roles of certain members of the VLK and other persons who may have been involved in the scheme.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada, Dmytro Lubinets, shocked with the “tariffs” of the TCRC for avoiding mobilization. For the chance to exit a bus, around 10 thousand dollars may be required. If a person has already been brought to the territorial center for recruitment, the amount allegedly doubles. At the same time, such a “settlement” does not guarantee that the mobilized person will not be subjected to another mobilization attempt.