At the Ugryniv checkpoint, border guards of the 7th Carpathian Border Detachment, together with operational officers, uncovered a suspected scheme for illegal border crossing through a sham marriage. The inspection concerned a married couple who were travelling to Germany.
A 48-year-old resident of Chernihiv arrived to leave Ukraine together with his 38-year-old wife, a resident of Chernihiv region with a Group II disability. The man explained that abroad the couple planned to find employment. During the checks it emerged that he had previously crossed the border as a father of many children, but after his eldest child turned 18 this ground ceased to be valid.
The man stated that he had met his future wife in March 2026 in her village. When asked about their relationship, he said that after the age of 30, the main thing for him was that a woman should be hard-working. During the interview, border guards recorded a number of inconsistencies in the couple’s answers: the man could not name the names of his wife’s relatives, and, according to him, his birthday present for her was cigarettes, as he described smoking as her “hobby”.
It was also established that after registering the marriage, the man and woman did not live together. Later, the woman reported that she had agreed to enter into the marriage for 300 US dollars, and that after crossing the border the man had allegedly promised to pay her an additional amount.
In view of the circumstances revealed, the border guards sent a report to the National Police regarding possible signs of a criminal offence under Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, “Illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine”. The final legal assessment of the actions of those involved will be provided by the authorised law enforcement agencies.