MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. Two border guard servicemen in Ukraine’s Zakarpatye Region fled the country during their shift, resulting in their monitoring inspector being fined 17,000 hryvnias (approximately $400) for negligence, the Ukrainian news outlet Strana reported.

The incident occurred in September, the court register said. The inspector, responsible for contacting the officers every 30 minutes, failed to fulfill his duty and was subsequently charged with negligent conduct in military service.

The border patrol inspector claimed that his subordinates had previously made attempts to escape.

Earlier on Wednesday, the body of a Ukrainian man attempting to flee the country was discovered in the Tisza River along the Romanian border in Zakarpatye. Ukraine’s Border Guard Service reported that between February 2022 and August 2024, the bodies of at least 40 men who drowned while trying to cross the border illegally were recovered from the river.

A nationwide general mobilization in Ukraine was declared in February 2022 and has since been extended multiple times. Authorities have intensified efforts to prevent draft-age men from evading military service. Many attempt to escape conscription by purchasing fake disability certificates, enrolling in educational institutions, or crossing the border illegally, often at great personal risk. Law enforcement frequently reports arrests of "guides" who offer assistance in border crossings and officials involved in forging documents at recruitment centers.