Departure from Ukraine is prohibited: what effects will the cancellation of the "Shlyakh" system and new border restrictions bring?

Starting from February 27, changes to the border crossing rules in Ukraine have come into effect for men involved in the transportation of humanitarian and medical cargo. From now on, such drivers will be allowed to leave the country under general grounds, rather than being required to register in the "Shlyakh" system, in accordance with the Cabinet of Ministers' Resolution No. 213 dated February 25, 2025.

Consequently, drivers transporting medical and humanitarian cargo must have alternative grounds for crossing the border as specified by the resolution, since the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development and regional military administrations will no longer register drivers in the "Shlyakh" system.

This means that women, men over 60, men with disabilities, or those with specific deferment grounds can now travel abroad to deliver humanitarian cargo. Additionally, they will not need to confirm the volunteer purpose of their trip.

Furthermore, starting March 3, the procedure for border crossing for journalists and cultural workers will also change. They will now be able to cross the border only if they have mobilization reservations and are on official business trips. The State Border Guard Service will operate according to the general rules for those liable for military service, and decisions from the Ministry of Culture will no longer influence this process.

As explained by State Border Guard Service representative Andriy Demchenko, the border service has not received decisions from the Ministry of Culture, as they do not pertain to them. He also noted that he cannot explain why the department changed its position on the departure of journalists and artists. Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Culture, the reason for the new restrictions is that a significant number of those who received special letters of assistance for trips did not return to Ukraine, violating mobilization laws.

According to department representative Dmytro Zolotukhin, in 2023, the Ministry of Culture issued 3,724 exit permits, and in 2024, 2,700, of which about 500 individuals did not return. This is why the ministry is currently developing a new resolution that will clearly define the criteria for border crossing for media, culture, and communication workers. Until its adoption, "letters of assistance" will no longer be issued.

It is worth noting that certain media outlets already have orders from the Ministry of Culture reserving their staff. However, the general rules for journalists' departures will now be regulated solely by the requirements for reservations and official business trips, significantly limiting the opportunities for Ukrainian media professionals to work abroad.

Locked Borders: How to Bring Humanitarian Cargo into Ukraine Now

People's deputy Sofia Fedyna believes that this decision effectively closes off the possibility of departure for male volunteers, which will significantly complicate the supply of necessary transport and aid for the army. In her view, there are not many women driving trucks, and the question remains as to how these women should load the truck by themselves. Not to mention that various issues can arise on the road—such as vehicle breakdowns—and it is unclear how a woman should resolve these problems independently.

Marina Stavniychuk, a member of the Venice Commission (2009-2014) and a distinguished lawyer in Ukraine, also reacted to the new ban.

"The government has ceased the functioning of the 'Shlyakh' system. This means we must understand that the war is over. Humanitarian aid is no longer needed. And we should not speak of abuses. These abuses were permitted by the executive branch. Not a single person has been held accountable," Stavniychuk stated.

Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman and political scientist Kyrylo Sazonov also believes that the decision to "shut down 'Shlyakh'" will cause more harm than good.

"Government, have you been told that you... are causing harm? Do you understand that you have blocked the transportation of the wounded accompanied by a doctor? Do you not understand? Well then, leave your sushi and latte dinner, gather at night for an extraordinary meeting, and resolve the issue," Sazonov addressed.

Abolition of 'Shlyakh': What Consequences Will This Decision Have

Veteran of the Russo-Ukrainian War and public-political figure Oleg Simoroz believes that the authorities are once again making decisions that are chaotic, unsystematic, and short-sighted. Instead of solving problems, they create new ones.

According to him, this is neither fair from a legal nor a moral standpoint. Such a decision is more of a political maneuver to obscure the eyes than a genuine attempt to solve the problem. The veteran believes a systematic approach is needed: clear control, transparency of processes, and public trust.

"Instead, we are once again faced with hasty bans, reorganizations, and closures that do not yield real results. It is also important to highlight another aspect—the accountability for making such decisions. The State Border Guard Service, which must now address issues of border departure, is itself extremely corrupt. We see how even people’s deputies with criminal suspicions leave the country without hindrance. Why should this structure now be responsible for making key decisions?" Simoroz continues.

In the veteran's opinion, one potential solution to the problem could be a public registry of departures available to the public and journalists. This does not violate privacy, as military personnel and special forces can remain in closed registries. However, regarding civilians, society has the right to know who is leaving, where, and for what purpose. This would help identify officials who abuse their positions and allow activists and journalists to monitor the situation.

It remains unclear how the new border crossing rules will affect aid to the army; however, the abolition of the "Shlyakh" system will complicate the logistics of delivering assistance to the front, which could have catastrophic consequences for the country's defense capability.

"Thus, the problem is not solved through chaotic bans. We need to punish corrupt officials who abuse their power, rather than create new artificial barriers for those who are honestly doing their work. Otherwise, this will lead to further chaos and collapse of volunteer logistics, which is unacceptable in wartime. Accountability for such decisions must be unrelenting, as only then can we achieve real results," concludes Simoroz.

Is There a Ban on Leaving the Country?

Lawyer and partner at the law firm "Kravec and Partners" Rostyslav Kravec reminds us that there have been cases where workers or companies that received exit permits for humanitarian transport lost this right because the driver did not return to Ukraine. In such cases, their permits were annulled, making further exits impossible. Companies that abused these permits no longer received them, and transportation was carried out mainly by genuine volunteer organizations.

"Currently, military administrations have been prohibited from issuing such permits, which has significantly complicated the process of obtaining humanitarian assistance, supporting military units, and providing for the population. This is a negative trend, as instead of establishing transparent control, the process is simply abolished.

According to the lawyer, the main issue is that formally there is currently no ban on leaving the country—all decisions are made manually. It would have been simpler to enact a law that clearly regulated this issue during martial law, but such a law does not exist.

However, there is a Cabinet of Ministers resolution that does not mention any ban—only who is permitted to leave. And in any democratic country, everything that is not prohibited is permitted.

"So where is this ban? It does not exist. Thus, instead of legislative regulation of the issue, we again have manual management, which creates corruption risks. This only confirms that all reforms of the law enforcement system are simply wasted funds. In the end, as always, there will be people who will solve issues unofficially, but now their services will become significantly more expensive," Kravec believes.

Let us remind you that in the Ternopil region, workers at one of the district territorial recruitment and social support centers earned up to $150,000 per month on conscripts. They initially created certain obstacles for individuals in obtaining deferment documents, mobilized them, and then released them for a specific amount from military service.