The SBGS explained who can be refused to cross the border under the new rules

Starting from 00:00 on Wednesday, July 17, all citizens of Ukraine aged 18-60 must have a military registration document to travel abroad, which will be checked by border guards. Citizens who have a deferment or are unfit for military service may also be denied travel if they do not have a corresponding entry in their military records.

Colonel Andrii Demchenko, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, told OBOZ.TALK on July 17. He explained that, according to the new mobilization legislation, starting from zero hours on Wednesday, all border control checkpoints must check the presence of a military registration document when citizens arrive at the border.

"The military registration document can be in paper form, issued at the territorial recruitment centers, or in electronic form. This is, in fact, the mobile application "Reserve+" with a generated QR code. Or a document issued in the ASCs, which must also have a QR code, because the QR code equates documents to electronic form, electronic format. And by scanning this QR code, border guards can get the data that is embedded in it to obtain information about the person," the spokesman said.

According to him, the State Border Guard Service does not yet see "any difficulties" because most citizens who crossed the border from zero to seven in the morning had a military registration document. However, there were also refusals.

"In total, about 40 people were refused. Some simply forgot their military registration document, others did not have it. But let me remind you that a mandatory condition is the availability of a military registration document for all categories of men aged 18 to 60 years old who are citizens of Ukraine. I would also add that those male citizens of Ukraine aged 18-60 who have the right to cross the border through deferment or because they are unfit for military service for health reasons and are excluded from military registration must have such records in their military registration documents. If they do not, of course, they may also be denied," said Demchenko.

At the same time, to prevent the use of forged documents or to check whether the data in military registration documents match, border guards can use the Oberig system, he added:

"Since March, the State Border Guard Service and the Ministry of Defense have been exchanging information, and our inspectors at checkpoints have access to this system to once again prevent the use of forged documents that give the right to cross the border, and, issued in the direction of the TCC."

A person who is denied entry does not simply not cross the border, but returns to the territory of Ukraine, the SBGS spokesman said.

At the same time, a person may be refused to cross the border if he or she is listed in the Oberig system as a wanted person.

"If we establish this, then, accordingly, we do not let such a person through, but call police officers to send them to the TCC," Demchenko said.

He also emphasized that border guards serve summonses at the border, neither on the green border, outside checkpoints nor at checkpoints. However, representatives of the TCC may be present at checkpoints "in certain areas, at certain hours".

"They do not participate in border control measures, but border guards can contact them if they have any reservations about a person who provides documents, including those allegedly issued by the TCC," said the SBGS representative.

Demchenko also advised Ukrainians who believe they have the right to cross the border to refer to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 57 of January 27, 1995, "to study it carefully, to see what documents are needed, whether they fall into this category, whether they have such documents that will give them the right to cross the border. And only then go to the border.

According to Demchenko, the number of border crossings has increased significantly since June, during the summer vacation period. Before June, the average number of people crossing the border per day was 80-90 thousand on weekdays and about 100 thousand on weekends, but now the passenger traffic on weekdays is almost 120 thousand people per day, crossing the border in both directions, exiting and entering, "and on weekends it can reach 130 thousand per day along the entire length of the border, where border control measures are carried out."

"This is, of course, the border with the EU countries, as well as the border with Moldova. At certain hours, queues can form when people arrive at the border at the same time to cross it to leave. This is usually on Thursday, Friday, and partly on Saturday. At the beginning of the week, although the passenger traffic is high, it is distributed throughout the day, there are no crowds and no long queues. Therefore, every three hours on the Facebook page of our Western Regional Department we show the state of congestion at the exit checkpoints so that people can find out where the less busy directions are and choose them instead of going to the more busy ones," the spokesman said.

He added that the number of border crossings by men is not increasing significantly. Most attempts to illegally cross the border are recorded outside the checkpoints, i.e. on the green section of the border.

The main categories of those crossing the border now are women, children, the elderly, and foreigners.

Demchenko also said that talks about a ban on travel for boys aged 16-17 are speculation – the restrictions apply only to men aged 18 to 60.

The condition of presenting a military registration document applies only to leaving Ukraine, Demchenko added. For those entering Ukraine, no additional border crossing conditions are applied – only the presence of a passport document proving identity.

He also explained that as part of the information exchange between the SBGS and the Ministry of Defense, border guards have access to the Oberig system, and the Ministry has access to the SBGS database to check the whereabouts of a person.

As for the number of men who did not return to Ukraine, the SBGS spokesperson said:

"We do not keep any data. We exclusively carry out border control measures under the norms and conditions prescribed by law. We are not authorized to keep statistics on the presence of Ukrainian citizens outside Ukraine."

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