The Tisa was only up to my chest, which was shallower than George had anticipated. I therefore didn't need to swim. I simply waded through the river. ".
A Ukrainian patrol spotted him when he arrived at the Romanian coast.
"I first heard gunfire, followed by a series of insults. But I didn't feel afraid. After some time in the front, you will be able to distinguish between shots fired into the air and shots directed at you. ".
George is a substantial man with a soft face and a hurt expression. He would be sentenced to 10 years in prison if discovered as a deserter from the Ukrainian army.
His real name is not George. To protect their identities, their names as well as those of other Ukrainians in this article have been changed.
The worst night he had was his first one in the trenches. That took place in March of last year, one month after the war began.
"We had 57 injuries and 27 fatalities. On his phone, he scrolls through pictures of his former teammates. While doing so, his big hands shake and his forehead wrinkles.
He points to a woman wearing camouflage fatigues and says, "All these people are dead, except me and that one.".
He had to travel the entire length of Ukraine, from the eastern war zone to this verdant and tranquil western border, over the course of several weeks and thousands of euros paid to a network of "guides.".
In Ukraine, enforcing the draft can be challenging, and the government acknowledges corruption as a serious issue. There is a "monthly rate" in western Ukraine, according to trustworthy sources, which is a fee paid to keep a person out of the military. .
Additionally, there are reports from the front lines in Ukraine that the commanders have asked the recruitment office to stop sending them men who don't want to fight or are too afraid to do so. In battle, they are merely a burden.
But a lot of men believe that their only chance to avoid combat is to illegally emigrate to another nation.
On the road next to the Tisa river, the Ukrainian army pulls over cars and buses every dozen kilometers to search for draft dodgers. When the war first began, their database was in a state of disarray.
Up to 20 men are being detained by the Ukrainian Border Police each day, according to a recent report. The BBC has contacted the Ukrainian Armed Forces for comment regarding rates of desertion and draft evasion.
However, since Russia's full-scale invasion last year, 6,200 Ukrainian men of military age have entered Romania illegally and received temporary protection across the 600 km (373 mile) border.
A further 20,000 people arrived legally, armed with exemptions - sometimes paid for, sometimes not - and made the decision not to leave.
In addition, 90 men are said to have perished in the past 15 months while traveling to Romania, either by drowning in the Tisa or by being frozen to death in the mountains, according to unofficial Ukrainian statistics.
Problems exist for both sides to deal with. It has been widely reported that tens of thousands of Russians fled the war and mobilization.
But this is the tale of the Ukrainians who resigned or refused to report for duty.
Dima lifts his sock to reveal his right foot to me. It resembles a pink, circular club.
When he crossed the Maramures mountains from western Ukraine into northern Romania, he lost all of his toes to frostbite. When his call-up papers arrived, he had left Ukraine. One of the group's four members passed away.
The second night during the snowstorm, I called my wife. When I realized I wouldn't make it, I apologized. ".
Katja says, "I told him to stop being stupid, get up, and keep going," standing next to him. They are firmly holding hands.
Those we encountered here were primarily from the Romanian ethnic minority in western Ukraine, but our research suggests that this is a widespread issue throughout the nation.
In this region, a mountain ridge forms the border between Romania and Ukraine. On the Romanian side, there is a nearly vertical drop. Dima and the other nine men were directed there by the "guides," who were really smugglers.
Dima attempted to descend the mountain, but the wind and ice caused him to lose his footing. He slid down the mountain, losing his phone, one of his socks, and his boots. He made a sock out of his torn trouser leg and phone cable while bleeding, bruised, and disoriented, and stumbled on.
After spending four days and three nights in the mountains, his wife alerted the Romanian rescue service, who discovered him barely alive. He was helicoptered to safety and brought there. .
I ask, as delicately as I can, "What would you say if someone called you a coward?".
He stutters, "I have no country.". "My family is all I have. ".
I meet Veronika, a former doctor from Zaporizhzhia, a town that has frequently been targeted by Russian rocket attacks, in Baia Mare, a sizable, affluent Romanian city close to the Ukrainian border.
A few weeks before her son turned 18 and was about to join the army, she quit her job and took him to safety in Romania. She presents me with a picture. a young man with a serious demeanor and the Harry Potter look.
Although he lacks physical strength, he has a very good mind. A nation cannot only have military service. A nation must possess brains. The future brain of my nation, in my opinion, will be my son. ".
She doesn't know when or if they can ever return to Ukraine, just like George and Dima do.
A plastic bag containing blankets and men's clothing is visible to me when Maria, a 22-year-old Romanian border patrol agent, opens the trunk of her patrol car.
Men are frightened, cold, and wet when they cross this river. They believe they will be sent back. However, we never do," she claims.
She frequently engages the men first because she speaks Ukrainian.
A few people, like George, have battle wounds that the strain of crossing the border causes to reopen. Others wound up with cuts from barbed wire and broken bottles that they claim Ukrainian soldiers threw into the water to scare them away.
They are reassured by Maria, who tries her best to help: "I try my best to help and care for them because that's what they need from us. provide them with food and, if necessary, medical attention.
. "
