[55403] Massive corruption scandal at a private university in Zaporizhzhia: thousands of men evaded conscription

"Fictitious Doctoral Students" network exposed in Zaporizhzhia

Law enforcement authorities in Ukraine have uncovered a serious corruption scandal at a private university in Zaporizhzhia, where a systematic method for evading military conscription was operated. According to the announcement by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, as reported by Реальна Війна, more than 3,000 men were registered for fictitious doctoral studies (aspirantura) in order to obtain a draft deferment.

The university leadership, headed by the rector, planned and executed the scheme with the assistance of family members and other senior officials. ТСН новини notes that the institution's leadership "earned" more than 50 million hryvnias through bribes and tuition fees, while exceeding the approved quota for doctoral students by 13 times.

According to information published by Новини.LIVE, those involved operated for two years and entered false data into official databases. The cost of the "service" for evaders ranged from several hundred to 260,000 hryvnias per person, in addition to official tuition payments. Following the exposure, the Ukrainian Ministry of Education revoked the university's license to train doctoral students.

Additional reports by Батальйон «Монако» and Всевидящее ОКО emphasize the scale of the involvement of the institution's top leadership, including the rector's daughter who served as pro-rector. Today, all those involved in the case are expected to stand trial for their part in organizing the illegal apparatus that allowed thousands of men to evade their conscription duty during the war.