"One of the soldiers said: "That hospital really likes this diagnosis, huh?"" he recalled. "I could see they knew exactly what was going on, and it wasn't the first time. But they were powerless to do anything, so they waved me through."
The man, who asked for anonymity to discuss the matter, admitted that he had paid a $5,000 (£4,000) bribe to escape a potential draft into the Ukrainian army and service on the frontlines.
"I knew there was no way I would be able to sit in a trench, so I took my savings and contacted a 'fixer'. Everyone knows where to find them. I paid in cash. They sent me to a hospital to do a spinal MRI; the hospital gave me a medical report claiming I had a major spinal defect, and with that I could get papers allowing me to leave the country. I had the feeling that, at every stage of the way, people knew what was happening and were getting a cut," said the man.
The whole process took two weeks. The man was able to leave and now lives elsewhere in Europe.
It is believed that tens of thousands of Ukrainian men have left the country illegally since the full-scale war with Russia started, many by paying bribes. On Friday, the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, fired every regional military recruitment head in the country, citing endemic corruption in the system. "This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is treason," he told his country.
This story is from the August 15, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the August 15, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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