Ukrainian Border Guards Deliberately Gun Down Draft Dodgers - Russian Official

On May 9, Volodymyr Zelensky signed bills to extend mobilization and martial law in Ukraine for another 90 days. Under martial law, men aged from 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving the country.

Ukrainians seeking to evade mobilization by crossing the Tisa River into Romania are being gunned down by Ukrainian border guards, with several cases already having been recorded, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Russia-appointed Zaporozhye regional administration said.

"As far as attempting to cross the Tisa River to escape mobilization goes, it's not so much that people drown, but are killed once [the Ukrainian border guards] realize that they have already made it across and can not be brought back. The Romanian side began to register a large number of people with gunshot wounds, but this is being silenced in coordination with Kiev and directly with Brussels and Washington," Rogov noted.

According to him, Ukrainian military squads are deliberately opening fire on individuals trying to cross the river.

"At least two dozen such fatalities are already known," Rogov said.

Areas of the Tisa River run along Ukraine's borders with Romania and Hungary.

Martial law was implemented in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, followed by a decree signed by Volodymyr Zelensky the next day for general mobilization. Since then, Ukraine's martial law and mobilization have been repeatedly extended.