A Ukrainian soldier was reportedly shot and killed by border guards while trying to illegally cross into Moldova, Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation said on July 15.
According to the bureau, four soldiers fled from a training camp and tried to cross into Moldova on foot on July 14. One of the fugitive soldiers reportedly attacked the border guards after being confronted, after which a border guard shot and killed him.
The bureau said that an investigation into the excessive use of law enforcement authority had been opened.
Under martial law, which has been in place since February 2022, Ukrainian men aged 18-60 with some exceptions are not allowed to leave the country because they could be called up for military service.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)'s Moldovan service reported earlier in July that more than 23,000 Ukrainians have illegally crossed into Moldova since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
According to data seen by RFE/RL, 7,700 Ukrainian men crossed into Moldova in the first six months of 2024.
Moldova and Ukraine share a border of about 1,222 kilometers (760 miles).
Many of those illegally crossing into Moldova intend to keep traveling into an EU country, although the Moldovan government offers differing levels of protection for foreigners who enter the country.
Moldovan Frontier Police chief Ruslan Galusca told RFE/RL that Ukrainian men who are detained after crossing "are not sanctioned for illegal entry."
Kateryna Denisova
