War, martial law, and mobilisation: Exploring the characteristics of human smuggling at Ukraine’s borders in 2022–2023

Abstract

This article examines how Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has affected the dynamics of human smuggling across Ukraine’s borders. The imposition of martial law and a general mobilisation have included a ban preventing military service-aged men from leaving Ukraine. This restriction has intensified human smuggling efforts, particularly along the routes into the European Union. By analysing court data on human smuggling since the invasion and comparing it to pre-2022 data, this study reveals significant changes, including an increased presence of women among smugglers and a shift in offender demographics – the average smuggler is now younger, more often unmarried, with no criminal record, and a Ukrainian citizen. The findings indicate that the new type of people smuggling under martial law has reshaped both the socio-demographic profile of smugglers and the criminological characteristics of human smuggling in Ukraine and contribute to the understanding of smuggling as a flexible and context-sensitive phenomenon.