Ukrainian men are paying disabled women to marry them to receive deferrals from military duty — and business is booming for those playing Cupid.
Thousands of fighting-age Ukrainian men are exploiting a loophole in the country’s martial law and marrying disabled women to avoid being sent to the frontline — and intermediaries are making big money by facilitating sham marriages.
An investigation by Ukrainian outlet NGL Media dug deep into the practice that is becoming increasingly more common across the wartorn country as men continue to find elaborative methods to evade mobilization and flee the country.
The platform, which describes itself as an independent anticorruption center, immersed itself in the world of Facebook and Telegram groups where men post marriage proposals, disabled women offer marriage for a price, and intermediaries seek to connect couples for a cut.
Fake marriages are not criminally punishable in Ukraine and so the scheme is completely legal, the site explains, although those seeking to facilitate such arrangements for financial benefit are on shaky ground.
The social media groups offering such opportunities are not subtle. NGL Media found several groups titled “Fake Marriage,” “Fake Marriage Odesa” and “Dating Kyiv” where adverts are posted regularly.