The Cabinet of Ministers submitted to the Verkhovna Rada draft law No. 13673, which proposes to introduce criminal liability for offenses related to the illegal crossing of the state border of Ukraine.
This is stated in the draft law.
The draft law provides for establishing a period of stay outside Ukraine for men of draft age, as well as introducing criminal liability for:
- illegal crossing of the state border during martial law or a state of emergency outside state border crossing points;
- obstruction of the development of border infrastructure, its damage or destruction;
- violation by a conscript, conscript or reservist of the established period of stay outside Ukraine.
Thus, the following punishments will be possible for conscripts who attempt to escape from Ukraine:
- a fine from UAH 119 000 to UAH 170 000;
- imprisonment for a term of up to three years.
At the same time, the government proposes to exempt from criminal liability men who illegally crossed the state border of Ukraine, but returned within three months and voluntarily reported this to the police.
The explanatory note states that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, border guards have detained 43 000 conscripts who were trying to illegally leave Ukraine. Of these, 4 000 were carrying fictitious documents.
The Cabinet of Ministers is convinced that the administrative liability currently provided for such offenses "does not have the proper punitive and preventive effect, since the number of such crossings is only increasing".
The bill has now been sent to a parliamentary committee for consideration. The changes envisaged in the document will come into force only if they are approved by the Verkhovna Rada and signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Author: Sofia Bakun
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