An Odessa resident who fled to the EU was apprehended by border guards while attempting to return home through the forests near the Carpathians.

A resident of the Odesa region, suspected of illegally crossing the border, was detained near Slovakia in Transcarpathia by border guards from the "Uzhgorod" department of the Chop squad. The Ukrainian was returning home through the forests because he had also crossed the Romanian border illegally in September and feared the consequences of his previous violation, reported the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine on October 30.

The Ukrainian border guards were assisted by their Slovak colleagues, who informed them of the movement near the border. Realizing that a response team was approaching, the Odesa man attempted to flee into the woods and ignored orders to stop. The border guards had to fire warning shots into the air multiple times to compel the fugitive to halt, as noted by the SBGSU. The detainee was taken to the border unit and administrative proceedings were initiated for illegal crossing of the state border.

The border guards report that the suspect is a 30-year-old resident of the Odesa region. According to them, he stated that he illegally crossed the EU border in early September. At that time, he spent four days traversing the Transcarpathian forest to Romania, and from there moved on to Germany. Unable to find work and settle in Europe, the man decided to return home. He once again plotted a route through the forest outside of checkpoints and navigated using online maps, fearing the repercussions of his previous violation.

"Article 33 of the Constitution of Ukraine stipulates that a citizen of Ukraine cannot be deprived of the right to return to Ukraine at any time, and the responsibility for a violation is not as terrifying as the threat to life and health during an illegal journey," the SBGSU emphasized.

Recall that on October 3, the SBGSU press service released a video of a Ukrainian who was running to Poland but ended up near Belarus. It was reported that while wandering through the forest, he shouted "НеІрр me" and "Na pomoc," before falling into the hands of Ukrainian border guards.

Additionally, on September 19, the fleeing deputy Artem Dmitruk shared how he escaped from Ukraine and why. Dmitruk revealed that he was picked up by a driver of an unnamed associate to the Odesa region, and from there, he walked to Moldova. The MP explained his actions by stating that he became a "victim of political persecution" and mentioned that he plans to return.