Illegal border escape scheme for €20,000 exposed in Kharkiv
A Russian military man and a Russian citizen were detained in Kharkiv on suspicion of organizing a scheme to illegally travel abroad. According to investigators, two residents of Zaporizhzhia region offered a Kharkiv resident "help" in crossing the border for 20,000 euros. The man was supposed to be escorted to Mukachevo, and then sent swimming across the river.
This was reported by the press services of the police and the prosecutor's office of the Kharkiv region.
Investigators found that the men disguised their activities as "legal advice" on the preparation of documents for departure. "Clients" were sought through advertisements on the Internet. A resident of Kharkiv came across such an advertisement in January 2026.
They treated their "victims" for a long time: with constant calls, systematic stories about a large number of successful crossings and supposedly good relations with border guards. According to the attackers, the only unsuccessful case in their "working" scheme happened only once and was due to the "client"'s refusal at the last moment to cross the border. At the same time, they kept the region of crossing and the foreign country a secret, because everything depended on where the so-called "window of opportunity" would appear.
The businessmen were not interested in official procedures: one of them assured the man that the only possible way to leave the country was to cross the border outside the checkpoints. He estimated the cost of such a "transfer" at 20 thousand euros. At first, he demanded payment in a crypto wallet, but later agreed to pay in cash.
The prosecutor's office added that according to the plan, the man was initially to be taken to Mukachevo, where the walking route would begin. He was warned to bring gloves to overcome the barbed wire fences.
Later, plans changed and the "client" was informed that he would have to cross the river. They even promised to provide a wetsuit.
In March, in Rohan, the "customer" met with another participant in the scheme, who was supposed to take him to Kharkiv to transfer to a car, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
In the center of Kharkiv, the group was met by a Russian citizen, to whom the "client" transferred the agreed amount of money. Immediately after that, law enforcement officers detained two accomplices.
The men were charged with organizing the illegal smuggling of people across the state border of Ukraine. They face up to nine years in prison with confiscation of property. Two suspects are currently in custody. Prosecutors are collecting evidence to report the suspicion to a third accomplice who is abroad.
