Ukraine war: Deserters risk death fleeing to Romania

"The Tisa was shallower than I expected, conscionable up to my chest," said George. "So I didn't request to swim. I conscionable waded crossed the river."

When helium reached the Romanian shore, a Ukrainian patrol spotted him.

"I heard shots first, past a drawstring of insults. But I wasn't afraid. When you've spent clip astatine the front, you cognize the quality betwixt bullets fired successful the air, and bullets fired astatine you."

George is simply a large antheral with a brushed look and a wounded look. As a deserter from the Ukrainian army, helium would look 10 years successful jailhouse if helium was caught.

George is not his existent name. His and the names of different Ukrainians successful this portion person been changed to support their identities.

His archetypal nighttime successful the trenches was the worst. That was successful March past year, a period aft the warfare started.

"We had 27 dormant and 57 injured." He flicks done images connected his telephone of his erstwhile comrades. His forehead crumples arsenic helium does truthful and his large hands shake.

"All these radical are dead, but maine and that one" - helium points to a pistillate successful camouflage fatigues.

It took him respective weeks and thousands of euros paid to a web of "guides", to transverse the full of Ukraine from the eastbound warfare portion to this greenish and peaceful occidental border.

Enforcing the draught successful Ukraine tin beryllium hard and corruption is recognised arsenic a large occupation by the authorities. Reliable sources successful occidental Ukraine talk of the beingness of a "monthly rate" - a outgo made to support idiosyncratic retired of the army.

There are besides reports from the Ukrainian frontlines, of commanders asking the recruitment bureau to halt sending them men who don't privation to oregon are excessively frightened to fight. They are conscionable a load successful battle.

But galore men spot fleeing to different state illegally arsenic their lone accidental of avoiding combat.

The Ukrainian service stops cars and buses each twelve kilometres connected the roadworthy beside the Tisa river, looking for draught dodgers. Their database, chaotic astatine the commencement of the war, is improving.

The Ukrainian Border Police precocious reported that they are detaining up to 20 men a day. The BBC has approached the Armed Forces of Ukraine for remark connected rates of desertion and draught dodging.

But according to the Romanian migration authority, 6,200 Ukrainian men of subject property person crossed the 600 km (373 mile) borderline into Romania illegally since Russia's full-scale penetration past twelvemonth and been granted impermanent protection.

Some 20,000 others made it determination legally, equipped with exemptions - sometimes paid for, sometimes not - and chose not to return.

And according to unofficial Ukrainian figures, 90 men person died connected the travel to Romania - either drowned successful the Tisa, oregon frozen to decease successful the mountains - successful the past 15 months.

Both sides person problems to contend with. The stories of tens of thousands of Russians fleeing the warfare and mobilisation person been extensively reported.

But this is the communicative of those Ukrainians who discontinue oregon dodged the call-up.

Dima rolls backmost his sock to amusement maine his close foot. It looks similar a round, pinkish club.

He mislaid each his toes to frostbite, erstwhile helium crossed the Maramures mountains from occidental Ukraine into bluish Romania. He'd fled Ukraine erstwhile his call-up papers came. One of the 4 men successful his radical died.

"On the 2nd nighttime successful the snowfall storm, I rang my wife. I said I was sorry, I wasn't going to marque it."

"I told him to halt being stupid, get up and support going," Katja says, beside him. They're holding hands, tightly.

Those we met present were mostly from the taste Romanian number successful occidental Ukraine but our probe indicates that this is simply a wide improvement crossed the country.

The borderline betwixt Ukraine and Romania runs on a upland ridge successful this section. There's an astir vertical driblet connected the Romanian side. That's wherever the "guides" - successful reality, smugglers - directed Dima and 9 different men.

Trying to descend, Dima mislaid his equilibrium successful the upwind and ice, and hurtled down the mountain, losing his boots, his phone, and 1 of his socks. Bruised, bleeding and shaken, helium improvised a sock with his torn trouser limb and telephone cable, and stumbled on.

The Romanian rescue service, alerted by his wife, recovered him hardly live aft 4 days and 3 nights successful the mountains. He was airlifted to information by helicopter.

"What would you reply if idiosyncratic called you a coward?" I ask, arsenic mildly arsenic I can.

"I person nary country," helium says awkwardly. "I conscionable person a family."

In Baia Mare, a large, comparatively prosperous Romanian metropolis adjacent the Ukrainian border, I conscionable Veronika, formerly a doc successful Zaporizhzhia, a municipality which has faced changeless Russian rocket attacks.

She near her occupation and took her lad to information successful Romania, a fewer weeks earlier his 18th birthday, to support him retired of the army. She shows maine a photograph. A studious youth, with glasses and a Harry Potter look.

"He has a precise bully encephalon but physically he's not strong. A state can't conscionable person subject service. A state indispensable person brains. I deliberation my lad is the encephalon of my state successful future."

Like George and Dima, she has nary thought erstwhile oregon if they tin ever instrumentality to Ukraine.

Maria, a 22-year-old Romanian borderline guard, opens the footwear of her patrol car to amusement maine a integrative container afloat of blankets and men's clothes.

"When men transverse the stream here, they are acold and bedewed and frightened. They deliberation we volition nonstop them back. But we ne'er do," she says.

As a Ukrainian speaker, she's often the archetypal idiosyncratic the men talk to.

Some, similar George, person conflict wounds which re-open successful the exertion of the borderline crossing. Others chopped their feet connected the barbed ligament and breached bottles they assertion the Ukrainian soldiers enactment successful the water, to deter them.

Maria does her champion to reassure them: "I effort my champion to assistance and attraction for them due to the fact that it's what they request from us. And springiness them nutrient and aesculapian care, if needed."