Ukraine police conduct raids in draft evasion probe

Ukrainian police said Friday its officers were conducting 200 searches nationwide as part of an ongoing probe into the illegal exit of military-aged men from the country.

Kyiv has been pushing a sweeping and divisive mobilisation campaign to boost its military, which is struggling to hold back Russia’s significantly larger army that is advancing across at several sectors across the front, AFP reported.

“The national police force is conducting more than 200 searches regarding cases of illegal border crossings” of Ukrainian men who are eligible for army service, the national police said in a statement.

The raids announced on Friday are just the latest step in a country-wide probe launched by law enforcement last week when Kyiv said police were searching around 600 homes, offices and other sites.

Last week, police said the operation was primarily targeting the organisers of schemes that help draft evaders to illegally cross the Ukrainian border.

Police said Friday that its searches were being conducted in 19 different regions and posted pictures of officers with weapons entering and cameras at what appeared to be private residences and offices.