The Cabinet of Ministers has suspended the operation of the "Shlyakh" system for drivers transporting humanitarian cargo.
This was reported by the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development.
The department recalled that on February 25, the government approved amendments to Resolution No. 57 regarding the travel abroad of drivers carrying humanitarian and medical cargo. According to these amendments, the travel abroad of such drivers is possible on general grounds, and not by registration in the Shlyakh system.
"Drivers who are carrying medical and humanitarian cargo must have other grounds for crossing the border, as provided for by Resolution No. 57, since the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development and regional military administrations will not enter drivers into the ʼShlyakhʼ system," the Ministry of Development explained.
In addition, the government instructed the Ministry of Social Policy, together with the Ministry of Defense, to develop a mechanism for the departure of military-obligated men for humanitarian cargo.
What is the "Shlyakh" system?
Thanks to the "Shlyakh" system, drivers of draft age could cross the border if they were transporting humanitarian aid or medical cargo. It went into effect in Ukraine on March 17, 2022.
However, the media systematically reported on the abuse of "Shlyakh", when conscripts went abroad and did not return. For example, in September 2023, NGL.media journalists found out that at least 2,248 men of draft age left Ukraine through the "Shlyakh" system from June 2022 to February 2023 with the permission of the Lviv Regional Military Administration and did not return.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.