Ukrainian border guard uses drones to stop conscripts fleeing abroad

Ukraine's border agency says it is using drones in its efforts to prevent conscripts from fleeing abroad, as Kiev seeks to repel the full-scale invasion by Russia launched in February 2022.
Fourteen men were stopped from leaving the country illegally on Friday in the southern region of Odessa on the border with Moldova, the border guard said.
A drone was used for aerial reconnaissance in four cases, the agency said on Saturday, adding a video showing men trying to cross the border illegally.
Ukrainian men have repeatedly sought to avoid being called up to fight in the war against Russia, as Kiev seeks to repel the Kremlin's forces.
In the recent case, the suspects contacted organizers online who were to show them escape routes for a sum of $2,000, the border guard said.
So far, the Ukrainian border guard says it has prevented more than 20,000 conscripted men from fleeing the country, most at the borders with Romania and Moldova, since Moscow's war began.
Men have also drowned in the Tisza river that marks the border with Romania and Hungary. Several also froze to death while attempting to flee through the Carpathian mountains.
Ukraine ordered a general mobilization when the war began, banning conscripted men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country.
More than 650,000 Ukrainian men aged 18 to 64 are registered as refugees in the 27 EU states plus Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, according to the Eurostat statistics agency.