Speaker A
How did it all begin? Obviously, with the start of the war. Before that, I had been living in Poland, working.
Two men evade military draft in Ukraine by escaping to Slovakia via a risky, well-planned journey involving train travel and border crossing.
Key Takeaways
- Escaping military draft in a war zone requires thorough planning and reliable intelligence.
- Physical fitness and mental preparation are crucial for overcoming harsh terrain and stressful situations.
- Trust issues and financial constraints led the men to avoid paying smugglers and instead rely on their own research.
- Weather conditions can significantly impact the success of covert border crossings.
- Support from friends and reconnaissance groups greatly increases the chances of a successful escape.
What the video covers
- The video recounts the story of two men who, facing military draft and lawlessness in Ukraine during the war, decide to escape the country.
- Initially living and working in Poland, the narrator returned to Ukraine where the war started and draft officers began targeting him.
- After multiple attempts by authorities to detain him, including being forcibly put in a van, the narrator resolves to escape.
- The men moved from Kyiv to Lviv, where the situation intensified with frequent encounters with draft officers and police.
- They meticulously planned their escape route, gathering intelligence from friends, reconnaissance groups, and using AI tools.
- Physical preparation was key, including gym training to endure the difficult terrain and conditions they expected to face.
- They timed their escape during favorable weather with rain and fog to aid their concealment.
- Their journey involved traveling by train, buying multiple compartments for safety, and carefully navigating border fences and terrain.
- Despite some unexpected challenges, their preparation and determination allowed them to successfully reach Slovakia within two hours.
- The video highlights the dangers faced by draft evaders and the importance of careful planning, physical readiness, and support networks.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Then it happened that I returned to Ukraine, the war started, and I stayed. At first, everything was somehow okay; well, not okay, but we were adapting, looking for work, working. But then the action started with the draft officers
Speaker A
and the cops. I mean, there were three personal attempts to pack me up, but they didn't succeed. Although, there was one time they did manage to shove me into a van. That was recently, by the way. After that, a firm decision
Speaker A
was made to, well, do something about it. There are also many cases among acquaintances who, unfortunately, either became disabled or were taken.
Speaker A
Some are no longer with us. It's just devastating. And in general, the whole situation in the country. Everything is, in principle, perfectly clear. I never really saw a life there, even before the war. That's why I always
Speaker A
wanted to break out, see the world, live, and get my life on a normal track. So, regarding when this all started.
Speaker A
It started in Kiev. That was probably my first attempt to find a way out, to escape, to find something. Well, everything is understandable. Lots of "helpers," lots of people offering services for various prices. Of course, I never paid, I just asked around,
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thinking it over. Deep down, I felt uneasy about giving money to someone, some unknown person, to get out or get away. There was always this extreme distrust, which, thank God, meant we didn't use them, even though various options were constantly offered. So.
Speaker A
And the first time it happened in Kiev, when the cops were the ones trying to pack me up. I was standing at a bus stop, a van pulled up, and three cops got out. First, they started checking my documents, but everything was clean;
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I wasn't even 25 yet. In short, that's how it happened; everything was fine, but they claimed I was on a wanted list. They showed me nothing. I started trying to communicate with them normally. Like, show me, let's see a
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report, you know, all that. But in the end, they started using force, trying to shove me into the car. They didn't succeed. A crowd gathered, and I was just like, that's it. And I walked away from them. In principle, it was, how
Speaker A
should I say, easy. I fought them off. And from that moment on, I started thinking about how to leave, how to get out, how to get away, because, well, this is total lawlessness. Then, over time, it all sort of settled, I calmed
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down and started working again. I didn't really think much about it because there was so much work to do. I buried myself in work. Later, I moved from Kyiv to Lviv. In Lviv, that's when things really started to get intense. I
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kept running into them at every turn, just crossing the street or sprinting past so they wouldn't stop me or anything. The worst time was when I went out to walk the dog around 7:00 AM, and four TCK officers and a couple of
Speaker A
cops came up to me. Well, they basically grabbed me and dragged me into a van, which was a two-door one.
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They threw me into the van, and as the left door was closing, the right one opened. I saw, you could say, a light at the end of the tunnel, so without thinking, I jumped out along with the trash and just ran. That was it, I
Speaker A
ducked into the middle entrance of a building. And, well, that was that. That became the starting point, the realization that, well, that's it, there's nowhere left to go. About a week later, roughly. They grabbed my friend in exactly the same way.
Speaker A
Actually, we lived in the same neighborhood. They just took him by his arms and legs and carried him off. He's disabled now. It’s just completely mind-blowing. So, I started figuring out what to do with a childhood friend of mine. Staying was completely
Speaker A
pointless. No work, no life. We didn't even leave the house; I mean, getting to work meant taking a taxi, and even then, we’d run out of the building and jump into the car, then run from the taxi into the office. Going to the
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store was out of the question, unless it was right inside the building; otherwise, we didn't go out at all because they were everywhere, so we started planning every move—where, how, and why. There's a lot of information here, and we gathered a lot
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of information here. An acquaintance of mine also invited me; he had tried leaving before, but unfortunately, his attempts were unsuccessful. He showed us a lot of info, we gathered more, started looking into things, and mapped out a route. It took a long time to
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prepare and analyze everything, because of the uncertainty of what was out there—we had no idea. It’s also good that we have a support group that we had previously sent out, so to speak, on reconnaissance. So, uh, we went
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over the route a few times, to places we didn't necessarily need to be, like the starting point or elsewhere, checking with friends who had bookings, traveled that route, or were nearby, just to find out what the terrain was
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like. Well, we gathered as much information as possible, everything we could, analyzed it, kept double-checking, and kept asking around. I mean, we really worked it out as thoroughly as possible, because in reality, we only had one shot. I'm 27
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now, and as usual, I’ve got a full house and a wanted poster. Well, my friend was basically in the same situation. There was no way out. We had to get it right on the first try, that was it. Paying someone money. Well,
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first of all, we didn't have the money, and like I said before, I don't trust those people. That’s why we worked everything out ourselves as thoroughly as possible. Of course, things didn't go exactly as planned, everything went very much off-plan, but it still worked
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out. We also monitored the weather, analyzed it, and talked to many guys who work with the equipment. Just to see how it works or doesn't work there.
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We checked and verified all of that. We used all possible AI systems, friends of friends, basically everyone we could, to gather information. We also trained, went to the gym, lifted weights, ran, did weighted squats; we prepared ourselves physically because
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we realized that, while it looked okay from the air, you never know how things will go on the ground. We prepared for the worst-case scenario, so to speak.
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Well, I’ll be honest, it helped. The fact that we trained really helped. Personally, I got through it all quite calmly, without any, well, any major strain. I would even say it was easy for me. I had been involved in sports
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before, though not weightlifting. But it was easy for me. For my friend, it was a bit harder. Well, due to his build, it was a bit more difficult for him. So. We spent a long time choosing the right time to do it, checked the
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weather, picked the exact terrain, and researched the vegetation, like when the leaves were fully out to provide cover. We waited specifically for the greenery so we wouldn't be seen, and we also planned for bad weather. We tried our best to pick the right weather,
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checked various resources to see where, how, and why, gathered information, and again, analyzed everything. Only one shot. You don't want to do all that work only to end up with nothing. Well, basically, our support group that we sent out for reconnaissance did a great
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job, they worked everything out and helped us with a ton of information. We traveled by train; we looked for trains in advance, figured out where they were going, bought tickets, and even bought several compartments just to be safe,
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so we could split up and analyze everything. And then X-Day arrives, so to speak. Everything lines up, things are falling into place, and we are fully prepared. And the weather is perfect, just what we call "weather for the trail." Rain, drizzle, dampness,
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and some light fog. I mean, it was just fantastic. As for the preparations, our path wasn't that long, so we didn't spend too much on equipment. We bought boots at Epicentr for about 2,500, with high ankles, you know, for support so
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we wouldn't twist them. Trekking socks,
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rain and so on. And, well, other little things, stuff like that. We did buy bolt cutters, by the way, but we made a mistake with those. We took the 200mm ones. We got them at the Epicentr hardware section beforehand. We thought
Speaker A
, let's test them. They were small and compact, easy to hide and carry. Basically, there's barbed wire there, and "yegoza"(concertina wire) and other metal wires. We snipped away, and they cut through everything perfectly. We thought, "Great, let's take these." But
Speaker A
that was a fatal mistake, because when we were there, it didn't work out, they didn't help us at all. So I advise you to take the 450mm ones in advance, just to be sure. Anyway, in principle, we didn't buy anything else. Just clean
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clothes and a place to put our documents, that's it. We also, like in the old days, took some underwear and I sewed a pocket inside the two-layer fabric in the front. We cut it open and I connected a tracker. A person was
Speaker A
monitoring me within a 100 km radius, so it was just an extra precaution, just in case something happened. So, just in case they at least knew roughly where I was. And we also sewed some money in there, stitched everything up.
Speaker A
And if anything happens, at least there would be something to get by on. Well, those kinds of moments, maybe funny on one hand, but still. And, in principle, nothing else regarding that kind of gear. Oh, and additionally, on our
Speaker A
boots, we took zip ties, uh, threaded them through, also tightened them like laces, so that, you know, just in case they tore, because I had laces, for instance, and my friend had one of those cable tighteners, so it could
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have snapped, which ultimately happened , but the zip ties held up, and that was a huge plus. So that’s it for gear, after which we began our journey.
Speaker A
We left from Lviv. We also sent out scouts. Checking to see if there were any "greens" or "blues" around. I mean, there was nobody there. Then a signal was sent to us. We took a taxi, arriving just 5-10 minutes before the
Speaker A
train. It pulled up, we ran over, got into the carriage, locked ourselves in the compartment, and headed off.
Speaker A
We’re traveling. Everything, the anxiety, the nerves, obviously. Mmm, it was, of course, a very stressful situation. At some point, at one of the stations after leaving Lviv, a woman came in and started checking documents.
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Meaning, she was a border guard officer . And that’s when the action, I suppose, really starts. Uh, I was on the wanted list; my friend wasn't, but then he appeared on it after she checked, I mean, after she verified his
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documents. Well, I had my regular passport with me, and she says, "Show me your Rezerv." And that’s when my heart starts beating really hard.
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You're thinking about what to do. I think, if I show her now, that's it, they’ll take me off right away. At that moment, I turn off my mobile data and show her that my Rezerv app isn't loading at all. Like, "maybe come back
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later," or just acting like it's not working for me, but that I’m otherwise all good. Right. But she just jotted down my first and last name, most likely on a piece of paper. And then she moved on. She checked my
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friend too, in principle, but everything showed up fine for him. He showed it to her. She just asked, "Do you have any deferments or reservations ?" He said, "No, nothing at all." So, well, that was that. And after that,
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probably about two stations later, he logs back into his Rezerv and it says, "Update your data," and that’s it.
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Well, if this data is updated now, it will automatically show up as red in the wanted database. And the only thing is, she said there might be another check later, and you'd be taken off.
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And that's when a little bit of panic sets in. What are we going to do now?
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Everything is unclear. Well, we're already on our way, so there's no turning back, only forward and not a step back. We keep going, we're pulling up. We have just a little bit of time left, probably about 10 minutes, until
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our starting point. And at that moment, the compartment door opens, and we are already sitting there, ready. I mean, we had our backpacks, well, we tucked them under a blanket so they wouldn't be immediately visible or noticeable.
Speaker A
But we still gave ourselves away because we were already sitting there dressed in boots, pants, and thermal gear. And our green jackets were right there next to us as well. "Good afternoon, border patrol officer, may I see your documents?" And then the
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inspection began: phones checked, documents fully examined, where are you going, why, do you have permits for the border zone, and so on. Then he took my friend's phone, supposedly to check and write down his details. But he grabbed
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the phone and started digging through his messages. He opened the chat with me and started taking photos with his own phone. After that, he says, "So you were trying to escape, using foul language too." And that's it—he says,
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"You're getting off at the next station , we're going to sort this out." So, we're shaking, panicking. We think, " What should we do?" It's unclear. We're sitting there, while he's standing by the vestibule, near the conductor. I
Speaker A
realize we have maybe a kilometer left to the starting point and we have to do something. I mean, we're, so to speak, halfway to freedom, so this border guard shouldn't be an obstacle at all.
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So, we look at each other, my friend and I, and I say, "Let's do it, let's do it." What is it? Jumping off the moving train. We had actually calculated this option in advance, in case this happened and we had to do
Speaker A
such things. The train's speed in that section had been roughly calculated. We also checked out options for how to open the doors. We bought a conductor's key beforehand just in case, because all sorts of situations can arise. We
Speaker A
didn't actually end up needing it, by the way. And in the end, we get ready and run to the next carriage while he's busy calling his, so to speak, colleagues to say he has two passengers who were too smart and tried to escape.
Speaker A
So, at the next stop, let's call in a unit, we'll intercept them there. And at that moment, we just run to the next car, open the doors, and just jump out while it’s moving, with no backpacks, nothing. Well, figuratively speaking,
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with nothing. Uh, we only had bolt cutters each, and, well, we had our phones. Well, my friend also had a small bag with, uh, painkillers, documents, a phone, some keys in there.
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I mean, just the usual small stuff. We jumped out, and we were fine, more or less. Well, just some light scratches.
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Basically, we landed on the gravel and rolled a bit toward the embankment. But honestly, everything was basically okay . We got up, uh, took a couple of painkillers and that was it. And we realized. Uh-huh. There’s definitely no turning back. So we have to move
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forward. And the fear kicks in that this traffic cop is going to report that, say, two people got off in this area, so they’re going to be looking for us regardless. But we think about what to do, we need to keep going. And
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that’s it. We were just right there off the tracks. Our starting point was already relatively close. We ran across , finished, ran into the woods, and accessed it through our phones. Checked the navigation to see which way to head
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, turned off mobile data, disconnected everything, and started off. The climb was steep. At the beginning, it was really tough, so we helped each other, gave each other a hand at times, because of the weather—it was raining , damp, wet, everything was slippery,
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mud, and a lot of fallen branches at the start. Uh, branches, I mean, there were fallen trees, it was probably hard going for about 700 meters, maybe every 100 meters. We took a one-minute pause to catch our breath. Caught our breath
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and moved on. Caught our breath and moved on. We thought we needed to go faster, as fast as possible, because we were worried that we might be intercepted somewhere on the approach and that would be it. Well, we had to
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make sure we weren't intercepted, to go faster, to try to reach freedom. So we just kept walking, and basically, there were these, well, we were checking the roads on the maps. We thought these were possible access routes, like some
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kind of trails, but in fact, they might have been old roads where someone used to drive, but they were all covered in branches and overgrown, so it was a bit of a relief knowing there might not even be any vehicle access. I mean,
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because it showed as an old road on the maps, so we could keep going more or less calmly. And we walked calmly, we saw deer running by. By the way, we got scared at first, thinking that was it,
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we were about to be caught, because of the crunching branches and noise. We crouched down, looked, and saw deer running by. We were like, "Phew!" We exhaled and kept going. We saw a black salamander with yellow spots. Actually,
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we didn't encounter any other wildlife. Birds were singing. Overall, it wasn't too bad. It was quite damp. There were branches lying around, and they were all rotten. I mean, we wanted to take, say, sticks, just to make walking
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easier and lighten the load, but they were just crumbling, completely rotten. Even though they looked like good, sturdy branches, they weren't. We walked calmly, bypassed everything, and sometimes stopped for a break, quickly checking the maps to see if we were
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moving in the right direction or where we were veering off, then we'd just turn them off and move on. And we kept walking, everything was fine, nothing special happened. There were some small ditches, maybe a meter wide at most and
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maybe up to a meter deep. You could easily jump over them or step across.
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There were a lot of branches, logs really, that you could cross, but you had to be careful because it was very, very slippery. Yeah. Then, as we kept going, there were some small, open clearings. We were worried there might
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be a drone or some kind of detection, that we might get spotted. But we didn't hear anything at all, no buzzing , nothing above us. We kept listening, trying to walk as quietly as possible, but there were so many branches that
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they often crunched under our feet. It was a bit noisy in some parts of the path, so to speak. Then we started our descent, following our route. By the terrain and the maps, we more or less understood where we were. But they were
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lagging a little bit. Well, not just a little, they were lagging quite a lot, but at least by navigation we knew we were heading in the right direction.
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Then my friend says, "Look, there’s something gray ahead, maybe it’s a car." We crouched under the bushes, starting to examine it, trying to figure it out, but I couldn't tell. We carefully opened the maps, looked, and checked. Well, we were actually pretty
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close to the border. We got closer and carefully took a look. That was it, the fence, the gas line. Super. We had a 10 %chance of success left. We started listening very carefully. Silence, everything seemed fine. We approached
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cautiously, thinking that was it, we’d just slip through, 5 minutes and we’d be free. I'm trying with the bolt cutters, like I said, to snip the 200s. It won't cut at all, even with all my strength. It’s not budging.
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And that's when we realize we need to do something, we have nothing on hand, no foam pads, nothing. I mean, we’re completely traveling light. Just what I’m wearing and that’s it. We thought about taking off our jackets to
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throw them over, but there’s a slope, a drop-off, and then the fence. So, from that drop-off to the fence, it’s probably about two meters. In short, there was no way to climb over, even the jackets wouldn't have helped at all
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, because there’s a coil of razor wire on top. Well, like 2 meters, maybe a little more. Can’t say for sure, didn’t measure it. And there’s a regular fence too, with parallel horizontal strands of barbed wire. We also noticed some kind of hose running
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behind the fence. I don’t know, my friend was saying, "Maybe it’s electrified." I was like, "No way, that’s impossible, calm down." Well, maybe there was some kind of alarm system. No clue, to be honest. So we’re thinking, what to do, how to
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get over, freedom is right there, beyond the fence, and we need to move before they pull up and catch us. There were likely lookouts too, because there were two spots where they had lit a fire, yeah, two spots like that. So,
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they sometimes sit there in ambush, there were a couple of plastic bottles, so someone had definitely been sitting there. We were lucky that no one was sitting there at the time. But, well, it's a forest, and their heads aren't
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exactly sharp, so they didn't trim the trees right over the razor wire and the fence. I mean, there was this spot, I just see a tree, it’s leaning smoothly over the fence so you can climb it and end up on the other side.
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We start giving it a try. It doesn’t work because it’s slippery. Then I finally managed to do it. I grabbed a branch and was just hanging there by one arm. I reached one foot out to the post. The post was just a rectangular
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pipe. There was nothing on top, no spikes or anything. I could easily lean on it, stand there with one foot. And that was a plus too, by the way, that I didn't just jump down but helped my friend, because he couldn't reach it.
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He was a bit shorter, and he just couldn't reach it. I was helping him out with my hand and foot like this. He held onto me, and to a tree. Everything was slippery, very slippery. Finally, he managed to get a better grip. I
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jumped down, and he jumped down right after me. Otherwise, if I had jumped, I don't know how I could have helped him.
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I don't know, maybe we would've thrown logs or something, handled it differently, I don't know. But it's all good, we made it across. Uh, you could see along the road, well, along the fence, that people drive there very
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often. I mean fresh tracks, right there in the mud and swamp, it’s a well-traveled route. I don't know if they use quads there or what, or SUVs, anyway, they drive something there.
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Thank God we didn't hear anyone, no motors, nothing, no buzzing at all. Everything was quiet and calm. Then we ran further. So, we’re running, we’re running. My friend says, "Look, " he says, he was in front. We looked,
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and there were already fence posts. We were like, "That's it, hurray, awesome, just great.""We’re free, hurray!" I said, "Well, look, let's not stop, let's keep going." I mean, let's go deeper, I said, as far in as possible, and then we can celebrate. Better not
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right now, just in case. I said, let's head deeper in, climb a bit higher, and then we'll celebrate being free. So we went deeper in, and realized everything was fine, we had nothing left to fear.
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We sat on a stump and lit up a cigarette. My friend happened to have a couple on him. Thank God they didn't get wet, we smoked, let it all out, were happy, and then went on. Wet, dirty, it was awful. We headed down. We
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could already see the village from the mountain. We descended, and it was pouring rain. There was a gazebo, we stepped in, wrung out our clothes because everything was soaked, the rain was terrible, of course, while in the woods it only dripped a little, not
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much. But as soon as we left the woods, man, such a downpour hit us. Or maybe it was just like that, I don't know. We got to a gazebo, called the police, and that's it, they came and picked us up.
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We explained everything over the phone —where we were, where they should pull up. The police and border guards were like, "In this rain today?" We were like, "Yeah, well, yeah." They checked everything, and we showed them our documents. Actually, I didn't have
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my document on me, I didn't bring my passport, just photos of it. But my friend, he had his passport in his bag.
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So that was that. Yeah. They checked for knives, weapons, anything like that . We were like, "No, no, we don't have anything at all." Just what we were wearing, that's all we had. We emptied our pockets, phone, stuff like that,
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that was it, nothing else. They were like, "Okay, alright, let's head to the station now." It was just about 200 meters away, give or take. We got in and drove off, completely soaked and frozen. They gave us blankets and said,
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"Just sit here for now." And then the registration process began. They processed us, everything was fine, it was great. I mean, we sat there for maybe 4 or 5 hours, or even longer.
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Then they let us go and said, " Everything's okay, you guys are good," and we all had a laugh. Also, while we were being processed, I'd say about 30 minutes after we got to the station, there's a procedure where they call our
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border guards, or someone else, I have no idea. Yeah. We talked to them, they didn't ask for specific data or anything, just our name, surname, what city we're from, how old we are, how we got there, if we bought something or
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not, basically nothing else. There was no pressure from our border guards, nothing at all. They just asked a couple of questions, gave us some paperwork, and we left. It was already evening, and we found a hostel. Well, not a hostel, it was a hotel. We called
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, a nice lady came, and we said, "Sorry , we're dirty, soaked, just a mess." She was like, "It's no big deal." We checked in, took a shower, and washed our clothes in the sink. There wasn't a washing machine, and we didn't have any
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other clothes anyway. Everything was dirty and torn. We washed them well, and she gave us a heater/radiator. We spread our clothes out to dry and cleaned our boots as best we could.
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Dried everything off, slept, showered, and had something to eat. We had tea, everyone was happy and content. The next day our scouts brought our things, we changed clothes, all the documents were there, everything was there. And that was it, we were on our way. We
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went, we went further, so to speak, to get settled. We went to Serbia, came back, and stopped in Poland. Now we’re here, basically, living and working. It’s very wild. It’s very wild that you can just walk around freely. You can walk at night; we were
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walking around the city at 2 a.m. Honestly, that’s just, well, it’s really wild. To spend 4 years in a concentration camp and find yourself free. It’s incredible. So that’s basically how I quickly laid it out.
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That’s how our journey went. As the crow flies, it was 2.5 kilometers. We left in about 2 hours, now it’s 42, that’s about how we "teleported." There was one traffic cop, he was in civilian clothes. And the woman before
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that was in a military uniform. He was standing near one compartment at first, because we were going to the bathroom or smoking, we went in and didn't pay attention, then he approached us a couple of compartments later. Yeah. And
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after that, he must have realized our intentions, and he was standing by the attendant, saying on the phone that there were two passengers who wanted to escape and they needed to be picked up at the next station. Well, without
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thinking twice, we decided to jump off the moving train, and that was it. I just take the trash, I was in one compartment, and my friend was in the last one, right by the bathroom, so I walk past him and say, "Let’s go." He
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gets up after me, and we walk. I pretend to throw out the trash. We enter the vestibule, run to the next carriage. And, by the way, when we ran through, we closed the door behind us, and there was a knob at the top, like a
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lock on regular doors. We turned it, well, just quickly and instinctively. It was all pure adrenaline. Just flashes. I pull the handle, the handle is locked, and there’s a turn-lock there too. I mean, there, well, it was an old carriage. This one was a bit
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newer, it had a turn-lock. I turn the lock. Well, we got that information from people, so we brought a conductor's key just in case, to open it if needed. I turn the lock, open the door, the door opens, and that’s it,
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I see the outside and just jump out without a second thought. Then after the tumble, I stand up, look, the train is leaving, and about 15, maybe 20 meters away, my partner is just lifting his head. How are you? How are you? I
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was like: "I'm fine, how are you? Also fine, meaning it all happened in quick flashes like that. I recommend 450, because we took 200s, and they, well, they don't cut through anything at all.
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Although we went to the hardware department at Epicentr, tried to snip wire, tried to snip chain-link, and there was EGO and regular barbed wire there, it's lying at the very bottom in the stacks, if anything. Well, it seemed to take everything clearly,
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click-click, click. Okay. But then when we tried to cut the fence at the border , nothing, absolutely nothing. The backpacks stayed there, with our clothes. Well, there was a charger, underwear, socks, a change of clothes, sneakers. That's it. Well, there were
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no other identifying markers, so to speak. Just the backpacks remained there with spare clothes, basically, and small items, and that's all. So we just left it like that, traveling light . I had bolt cutters, my friend had bolt cutters, I had my phone, and my
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friend had his little bag, it had cigarettes, his passport, phone, and power bank in it. That was just what he had. He carried it with him all the time. He sort of jumped out with me. He was jumping out right behind me. We
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have iPhones, I have an 11 Pro, my friend has a 12, if I'm not mistaken.
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And for mobile operators, I had Lifecell, but it wasn't loading at all. I mean, even like, we just went in, maybe 20 meters deep, right? I'm thinking, let me check the maps for the direction, and it's zero. I mean,
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nothing's loading, the location point keeps jumping, it won't load anything, neither left nor right. My friend had Vodafone. Vodafone worked well for him, I mean, with delays, yes, in places, but it was still showing more or less fine. That was, by the way, not far
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from Lviv. It's a city, I don't remember exactly what it's called. Well , in general, it was not a border zone, that's 100%, because we hadn't traveled that far from Lviv. That was it, this inspection started. We were riding in
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the second-to-last carriage, and there were only, if I'm not mistaken, five or six of them. That's why, perhaps, they even check from Lviv. Also, I didn't clarify this. The train stopped at every station we passed. There were green ones, there were red guys who
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would come out immediately, occupy them , and check documents. We saw this at every station from the window, because we were watching what was happening. At every station, right after leaving Lviv , they are just standing there, that’s all. I’m talking about
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trains, and when it’s traveling through border zones, well, they will be there 100%, meaning they could constantly be riding them, probably even from Kyiv now. They travel, well, they walk through constantly. Meaning, first one group, then others came, they
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are at every station. Therefore, unfortunately, they are present there and will be checking. They don’t check the girls. I mean, there were girls traveling there. They didn’t even check their documents at all. But they checked all the guys. That was her
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. Now, Slovakia, the police were totally normal. I mean, the attitude was super. There was even a curious, funny moment while filling out the documents. Meaning he asks:" If everything gets fixed, everything settles down, would you return? "I tell
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them, well, when this madness, this theft, and all that ends, when things are actually normal, genuinely normal, then sure, I'll return. He says, the girl who was recording says," Write: never. "So everyone understands that this rotten leadership, well, it
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probably won't change anymore. But they treat you well, meaning no...uh...The police there, it seems, were probably having a shift change. When they were leaving, they walked up, shook our hands, and said," All the best, good luck to you, stay strong, everything
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will be fine. "Well, based on the words , I basically more or less understood.
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I know Polish, it’s similar. Yeah. So , we smiled, shook hands, and that was it. They left and that was that. Well, then half an hour later, they let us out too. Apple. Meaning you attach it, for example, to your keys. Or they
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might put it in children's pockets, for instance. I just happened to see it in a store, asked about it, and they said, well, it tracks within a 100 km radius and transmits a signal. So if you lose your keys or your bag. You can find it.
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Basically, it works on the principle that if there are other iPhones nearby, some kind of triangulation occurs, and it transmits the approximate location radius of the item or person. Yeah.
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Well, we decided to use it, since we had our scouting with us, just in case, it was within the field of operation.
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That is why they saw us, where we were and how. 1,000 to 1,700 in that range, depending on whether you buy at Yabka or some other store. If I’m not mistaken, we got it for about 1,700.
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It’s big, like a round coin, about the size of a five-kopeck piece. Well, probably about four millimeters thick, I’d say. Uh, our pants were kind of, you know, military style. We bought them in Lviv, we were looking for them
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there too. We didn't really have that much money, so we went looking. We looked everywhere, like at Epicentr and in outdoor stores. I mean, the outdoor stores are expensive, and Epicentr didn't have anything decent. Uh, we kept searching, and we ended up buying
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them in Lviv. There's a shop called Kazak, if I’m not mistaken. We went there, looked around, they had a good selection, and we chose. Like dark green pants, jackets, give or take. In a budget-friendly option. So, I got the
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pants for about 1,700 to 1,800. The jacket was around 2,000 to 2,200, something like that. And we bought the footwear at Epicentr. And, well, it cost about 2,200 or 2,500, in that range. I mean, we understood that we
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didn't need any serious professional gear. We were basically doing a short route, so it should be enough, and we wouldn't need them after. They fulfilled their purpose, in principle.
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And they worked 100%, so to speak, they earned their money. And why Slovakia? Because, well, first of all, they give you a paper, and you can travel further calmly. So, it doesn't really act as protection. That was a big plus, just
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to avoid any headaches later. Because my final destination was Poland, since I worked here before and my family is here, so there's no point in going anywhere else. Well, not that there isn't, but I don't want to. Uh, by the
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way, for anyone who might find this useful regarding, for example, PESEL. So, as we were entering Poland from Slovakia, heading back, we stopped by some friends on the way in a small town , Bielsko-Biala. And you go to the
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Urzad Miejski. There’s a very, very nice Polish woman working there. We went in, and I told her," We'd like a PESEL. "She said," Yes, yes, no problem , five minutes, your PESEL is ready. " So we were just very worried about
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whether we'd get it or not, reading and finding out a lot of confusing information. But following a personal example, we went and got it, and everything was great. Then, when choosing the starting point, we calculated the options as best we could
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, so it would be close, because we didn't really want to walk for too long . Besides, there isn't really a field where you can roam freely and choose an area where you have multiple paths to take, because there are villages and
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other things; you just can't pass through, there are checkpoints, and so on. Well, we chose based on a rough orientation of where border posts might be. There was information on where they might be stationed. Theirs. And so we
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chose a gap so that, if anything, if they didn't spot us, it would be difficult for them to reach us. Well, not even just difficult, but to somehow win some time, even if a trail camera saw us, or a drone spotted us, or some
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other situation occurred. So, for example, here is how we chose: bad weather, rain, so there wouldn't be an ambush, because they are people too, and, on one hand, they might not be sitting in an ambush in the rain
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getting soaked, and, well, it's unlikely they would be. That’s why we chose bad weather and picked exactly that stretch where it was possible to break through to freedom. We chose, discussed it many times, changed it a little, moved left or right to pick the
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terrain, looked it over, but we eventually settled on this section. It seemed quite simple to us, in principle , and that was it. So we chose it and that was that. I don’t know, this whole story felt more like luck, like,
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you know: you need to go here, I just see the point, I understand that I want to go here, and that’s how we mapped it out, checking five to ten—I can’t give an exact number—open tabs with various maps, hiking trails,
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different maps, topographic imagery, old maps, new maps, all sorts of maps that exist, everything. And for each map, we looked for escape routes, like, where arrests had taken place. By the way, regarding detentions, we also looked at our route, where we were
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planning to go. Meaning, the total number over the entire period wasn't actually that high. And if you take, say, the last two years, there were almost none at all. That’s why we used that for our orientation. It's clear that this information wasn't
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entirely reliable, but it still gave us hope that it was a plus towards us being able to reach freedom. Yeah, so we specifically picked a forecast for when there would be prolonged rain; it had been raining for about two days,
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and there was definitely a thunderstorm predicted for that day, like a heavy rain, good precipitation. We were choosing, and even when we were on the train, we were looking, like, from above. It was actually very beautiful.
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Uh, over the hills and mountains, there were clouds and fog—it was just great . You could see how different wind currents were coming in, and it was...
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well, as we were told, drones wouldn't fly because it’s pointless in such weather with that kind of visibility, and it’s a huge burden of responsibility for the person operating them, so that was the main factor for why they wouldn't be there. But we
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chose it to minimize the risk of being seen, in any case, in such weather conditions; it would be somewhere between 10 to 13 hours, give or take. I mean, from the time we boarded, arrived , jumped out, crossed, called, and all
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that, then sat at the police station, and were released—that’s roughly the timeframe, give or take. We didn't pack too heavily; we bought those vacuum bags at Epicentr because we understood we needed to keep things dry to change into, since we were 100%going
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to be wet and dirty. Uh, we took documents, medicine—a small list, like painkillers, Theraflu, things like that, plasters, we had zip ties just in case, but knives or anything like that, we didn't take any of that, in principle. So, it was the lightest
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possible backpack for a quick exit. And that's it. Well, the most important things were footwear and clothing, camouflage, and everything else in the backpack. just to have some clothes, so to speak, to look presentable, to change and be clean. We had bars, like
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protein bars, we had water, and we had also been working out at the gym, taking creatine and amino acids, preparing ourselves for a tough marathon-like push. So we were preparing while on the road as well. We also brought pre-workout with us, about
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half an hour or 40 minutes before the moment someone tried to stop us, but they didn't succeed. We drank our pre-workout and were already starting to get charged up, in principle. Just basic things, phone chargers, some iQOS stuff, a couple of packs of sticks,
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that kind of thing. So, there really wasn't anything significant in terms of small items. Just a bit of water, 0.5 liters, and, well, a couple of bars, yes. We calculated it, and for the two of us, it cost roughly 25,000. That's
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including tickets and clothing, very approximately. And why Poland? I have a child here, a family; they live here, so obviously, as a father and a man, I need to be nearby, help with raising them, and provide support. I’m not
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going to change countries. But as for how things go, everyone understands that. Regarding deportation, people say you can get deported for parking, or if you cross the road in the wrong place, you get deported. In reality, from talking to acquaintances, they say
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that’s not true; to get deported, you need to commit serious violations. Like driving drunk or causing a drunken disturbance. Something quite serious.
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Also, before going to the Urząd, we went to a lawyer whose contact we got from friends. We went and talked to her about the best way for us to proceed and what we should do. Yes. And we also
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asked her about this whole situation regarding deportation and so on. She said:" Well, if you're going to get drunk and cause trouble or break the law, then obviously nobody is going to pat you on the head; they’ll just say
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, 'That's it, get out of here.' " Basically, that's it. Regarding low wages, that’s an individual matter, and I don't want to offend anyone, but if you don't have any skills, what do you expect? I mean, I have some skills.
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I do this with my own hands. I am a specialist in this field. I was earning money from this in Ukraine, too. I wouldn't say I made a fortune, but I earned good money. It's the same here in Poland; you can earn well if you're
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a specialist in something. Even if you don't have any connections to pull strings for you, as long as you're a sensible person with a goal and a dream , and you want to achieve something in life and know your stuff, you’ll be
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fine. You'll have a good salary and find it comfortable to live in any country, provided you don't break the law. First and foremost, if you work and develop steadily, everything will work out for you. We knew that there
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might be inspections. As it was said— that is, according to the information —the inspections were supposed to start at a certain point, but they began earlier. Well, let’s just say we were all in; we didn't care about anything anymore. Either we try and
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succeed, or we don't try and fail, but at least we won't spend the rest of our lives blaming ourselves for not having tried. I can even say now that I regret not trying to do this sooner, even though there were many opportunities—
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a lot of them. About two years ago, I was in Uzhhorod, standing somewhere near the border at 3:00 a.m. Honestly, why it didn't cross my mind back then, I don't really understand. I could have just tried to run across, for example,
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or done something. The decision and the search likely began sometime in mid-February. That’s when these monsters, to put it mildly, packed me up. I started searching and figuring out who to take with me, who wanted to go and who didn't. Most of the guys
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were simply scared, that's all. Well, my childhood friend, he was essentially in the same situation. So, we talked, and he said," I'm down for anything; I don't want to stay here because, well, you can basically walk out the door and
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never come back. "We braced ourselves, went all in, made our decision, and talked it through. And from that moment , our preparation began. It started with finding a route, checking what, how, and which days; we looked at things like the weather, gathered
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information, and put it all together. As for the gear, about a week before we were set to leave, we bought everything —like clothes and all that—and then we just checked the weather right before heading out. Well, the weather
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actually played into our hands, so to speak. It was just like that during those next few days. And that was it, we chose the time, bought the tickets about two days before, and that was it.
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I want to motivate everyone, absolutely everyone, by saying that there is no need to be afraid. You really shouldn't be afraid, because even that traffic cop who, in fact, had us caught, didn't play any role in the end. I mean, we
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outsmarted him and still got out anyway . Even though it seemed like that was it, the end, and we were done for, in reality, no. There is always a way out of any point, from any place, there is
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always an exit. The only things you can't change are your date of birth and date of death on a tombstone, basically , when you're no longer among the living. That's it. Everything else can be changed; you can find a way out. I
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always motivated my friend by saying that people escaped from Alcatraz, people escape from North Korea, and guys are getting out of our concentration camp, so to speak. So, you can do anything, as long as you have the desire and the courage, and
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everything will work out. And you need preparation, good physical and mental preparation. Remember that you have loved ones who are also counting on you , on your support. They are also your support. All your girlfriends, sisters, moms, dads, brothers, basically
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everyone. Therefore, your life is the most valuable resource there is. That’s why they can't stand on every single meter. Don't be afraid, the main thing is not to be afraid. There is and always will be a way out. We got out,
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even though it seemed like we wouldn't. We thought:" Well, it’s okay, we tried, we risked our health and our lives, just like everyone else does. " But we succeeded, and everyone else will succeed too. The main thing is to
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plan everything correctly, work it out with a sober, cold head a hundred times over; as they say, measure seven times, cut once, and everything will work out.
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We got out, even though we thought we wouldn't.
Topics:Ukraine warmilitary draft evasionescape storyborder crossingSlovakiatrain travelwar refugeessurvival planningphysical preparationlawlessness in Ukraine
