In February 2025, the Ukrainian government officially banned the use of the “Shlyakh” system for the departure of humanitarian cargo drivers. The reason was massive abuses, due to which hundreds of men of draft age fled abroad, hiding under the guise of volunteers. NGL.media conducted dozens of investigations that shed light on the scale of fictitious “volunteer activities” and participation in schemes by a number of public organizations — especially in the Lviv region.
In September 2023, journalists published an investigation called “The Great Escape,” which named the organizations through which the largest number of “volunteer” drivers left. The leaders were the NGO “Prosvita” from Mykolaiv in the Lviv region and the “Bread Theater” associated with it. Thanks to them, about 200 men fled the country. They were represented by Natalia Mukha — a relative of the head of the Lviv OVA, Maksym Kozytsky — and Roman Zbudovsky.
Searches in the case were conducted only in November 2024. Other organizations in the focus of the investigation include the “Commission for Combating Corruption in Sambir”, “Our Worldview”, “Ray of Our Hope”, “Make a Dream Come True”, and the “Sport of the Nation” foundation. Documents and equipment were seized from the latter, because according to the investigation, 52 people escaped from it.
A separate investigation is underway into volunteer organizations associated with the Barristers bar association and its representative Oleksiy Shevchuk. These include the NGO "Clean Kyiv", "Bayraktar", "Indifferent Citizens", "Public Environmental Initiative", "Ukrainian Guild of Activists" and others. According to journalists, more than 200 men have escaped from this group.
Despite an investigation that has been ongoing since 2023, no official charges have been filed. Court rulings are emerging, but progress in the case is extremely slow.
One of the few cases that ended in a verdict concerns Denys Sinyavsky, the founder of the Bayraktar Foundation. On April 28, 2025, the Prydniprovskyi Court of Cherkasy sentenced him to 7 years in prison for illegally smuggling people across the border. According to the investigation, Sinyavskyi received $2,500 from each man for entering the Shlyakh system.
During the trial, the name of the “head of the volunteer center” surfaced, who, as it turned out, was a managing partner in the law firm defending Sinyavsky. It is likely that these are defendants associated with the Barristers group.
In 2024, the Zhovkva District Court found Iryna Yermolenko, the head of the World of Love charity, guilty of helping 52 men leave. She was sentenced to 5 years in prison, but the sentence was replaced with a two-year probationary period.
The head of the "Legion of Sich Riflemen" charity, Yuriy Nashchochych, was charged with two counts at once: illegal trafficking of persons and unauthorized actions with data. The trial is ongoing, but there are no details in the registry.
Another case is the “Renaissance of Our Ukraine” fund, through which 49 men escaped. Its leader, Anatoliy Donets, admitted that he allowed his organization to be used in exchange for his own travel abroad. The case is being investigated, but the details are unknown.
Despite the high-profile facts and the large number of fugitives identified, most cases have not yet reached court. Only a few have received punishments - some suspended, some real. While journalistic investigations by NGL.media have revealed more than 2,000 such cases, Ukrainian Themis is only beginning to catch up with the perpetrators of the schemes.
