“No one wants peace”: Ukrainian men risking death to avoid the front line

Viktor Pinkhasov can’t stop smiling. He has just fled Ukraine after walking alone for five days through the Carpathians. “I want to go and be free, to live”, the 34-year-old tells , in disbelief, after arriving in neighboring Romania. Viktor is one of dozens of people who cross illegally from western Ukraine every week.

After nearly four years of fighting Russia’s invasion, Ukraine is facing a growing manpower crisis: Kiev’s forces are trying to maintain a front line of more than 600 miles (965 kilometers) against Russian troops, who are fighting a relentless war of attrition.

CNN spoke to half a dozen men who evaded the draft because they didn’t want to risk dying in a conflict with no end in sight — despite attempts by the Trump administration and foreign powers to negotiate an end. Meanwhile, Russia can count on a population more than three times that of Ukraine to fill its ranks, despite the growing number of casualties.

As of September, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office had opened around 290,000 criminal cases due to absence without leave and desertion of soldiers, according to the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. Martial law prohibits all men between the ages of 23 and 60 who are eligible for military service from leaving the country.

For Pinkhasov, who worked as a taxi driver in Kiev, life in the country has become unbearable even as U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders present competing visions for ending the war. “No one wants peace. Not Putin, not Zelensky, not Trump,” he says, bluntly, as he sips a cup of tea in the Romanian border town of Sighetu Marmatiei, feeling the air thick with smoke from wood-burning stoves fighting the cold.

Viktor Pinkhasov says he spent about a month preparing for the crossing, closely following navigation applications and Telegram channels where people talk about their experiences and share tips. Pinkhasov also stocked up on dozens of energy bars and second-hand survival gear. On the last day, he abandoned everything in the mountains so he could run across the border and avoid being caught by Ukrainian border guards.

Once on the other side, Pinkhasov became one of more than 30,000 Ukrainians who have illegally crossed the border into Romania since the start of the conflict in 2022, according to the country’s border police. They were all given temporary protection status, a European Union measure for anyone fleeing war.

Ukraine’s own state border guard service claims that more than 25,000 people were caught leaving the country. And this is just for Romania. Many more flee to Moldova, Hungary, Belarus and other countries.

A deadly crossing

Not everyone manages to get through unscathed. At least 29 men died trying to cross the treacherous mountains or drowned in the Tisa River, which separates part of northern Romania from southwestern Ukraine.

Dima, who asked to use a false name out of concern for his privacy, lost all of his toes due to frostbite after spending five days trying to navigate the slopes in sub-zero temperatures. “It was a shock when I saw my feet,” the 42-year-old construction worker told CNN. “Every day it hurts. Every minute, every second hurts.”

The father of two left Ukraine after being called up for military service in the early days of the war. He paid smugglers to help him escape in April 2022, but says they did not warn him of the deadly risks that awaited him. “When we were at the top of the mountain, there was a big snowfall. If we moved a meter away we could no longer see each other”, recalls Dima. One of the men he was traveling with froze to death. The weather was so bad that his body could not be recovered for weeks. Dima was convinced that he too would die. But Romania’s Salvamont Maramures rescue service airlifted him off the mountain just in time.

“In our work we have a lot of empathy for humanity”

Dan Benga is the man responsible for these rescue missions. Former rugby player who became a businessman, since 2017 he has dedicated his life to saving people who get into trouble in the mountains, in what is the second largest mountain range in Europe. Along with other state agencies, his team rounded up 377 Ukrainian men in less than four years.

Benga says many of the men are not equipped with the equipment needed to cross such steep ravines and knee-deep snow, and are at risk of succumbing to injuries or exhaustion. “They would rather die in the mountains trying to escape than in war,” Benga tells CNN. Refuse to judge them. “We don’t really know what’s going on in his mind, in his soul… In our work we have a lot of empathy for humanity.”

It’s a risky job that almost cost the 57-year-old his life one Christmas Eve. He was trapped on a mountain during a snowstorm for five days in 2022 and was declared missing by authorities. The wife and three children were advised to prepare for the worst. But Benga resisted. He says he carried a Ukrainian on his back for 14 hours until rescuers finally found them. Benga becomes visibly emotional as he remembers that day – the dangers of his work and the toll it can take on his family weigh heavily on him.

A Ukrainian man who requested anonymity out of fear for his safety tells CNN that being rescued was “an indescribable feeling.” “I felt goosebumps all over my body. Waiting for the rescuers was like waiting for a miracle”, he recalls.

Smugglers guide fugitives from Ukraine

For those who can afford it, paying a smuggler can be tempting. Some of them openly advertise their services on social media. “Artem”, who has more than 4,000 followers on TikTok, claims he can facilitate a crossing to Romania for 14,000 dollars. “We rescue people who just want to live, build their future”, he says in an interview with CNN. “I help people, I save people”, he adds, comparing his work to a rescue service.

“Artem” explains that bribing Ukrainian authorities, including border guards, into looking the other way is the key to success. When the fugitive manages to leave the country, his team continues to guide him remotely, online. “We transport people directly to the border and then they just take a short walk of 300 to 400 meters and they are already in Romania”, he guarantees

A CNN journalist posed as a Ukrainian looking for information about the smuggling process on Telegram, directly discussing costs and logistics with two other people who claimed they could facilitate the escape. They also mentioned the fact that they bribed the guards.

The smuggling team takes him “directly by motorbike to the roll of barbed wire,” a smuggler told CNN. “Cross the wire quickly. Move 100 meters into Romania and once you are in a safe location, send the payment to your cryptocurrency wallet.”

Ukraine’s State Border Service assured CNN that it has a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption. “Our internal security service is actively working to expose any cases of illegal activities, and we always publicly report the detention of our employees if such cases occur,” said spokesman Andriy Demchenko.

“Those found committing such offenses are held accountable in accordance with current legislation,” he assured, adding that “allegations expressed by illegal groups violating the law must be supported by evidence. Otherwise, they may just be slander.”

Some men caught trying to leave the country illegally reported being mobilized shortly afterwards. The decision to flee to avoid the front line is widely seen as shameful in Ukraine, which is fighting a defensive war against its much larger, nuclear-armed neighbor.

For taxi driver Pinkhasov, who crossed the border alone earlier this month, it was worth it. After escaping, he was reunited with his five-month-old daughter in Switzerland.