Crimes on the State Border of Ukraine: Statistical Indicators

In order to provide answers that reflect the real situation in the field of protection of the state border of Ukraine – both before the full-scale war and during the War – it is necessary to consider the crime statistics under Article 419 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Violation of the rules of border service).

Between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2025, 169 criminal proceedings were initiated under Article 419 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. However, only 11 criminal proceedings resulted in charges being brought. In other words, only 6.5% of criminal proceedings under this article had any prospect of reaching court.

At the same time, it is necessary to analyse another indicator of the structure of crime, which also concerns the state border of Ukraine, namely the illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine (Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2025, 10,597 criminal proceedings were initiated under this article. In 6,140 criminal proceedings, specific individuals were notified of suspicion, which is 58%.

It is worth comparing these two indicators.

It is obvious that 169 criminal proceedings under Article 419 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and 10,595 criminal proceedings under Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine constitute a more than significant difference, indicating a clear disproportion in the punitive approach to border guards and ordinary citizens, who are the main targets of criminal repression in terms of violations of the rules for crossing the state border of Ukraine.

Furthermore, it can be presumed that over the past ten years, the state has created aт informal  system of indulgences for its agents for violations of the rules by these agents.

At the same time, this cannot be said about ordinary citizens. Moreover, it should be emphasised that Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine) has a relatively low level of latency. Usually, persons are brought to justice based on the detected fact of illegal border crossing. Therefore, the fact that only 58% of criminal proceedings under Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine result in a notification of suspicion indicates the presence of a significant corruption component in the activities of border guards, who are the main providers of evidence for the police investigators in corresponding criminal proceedings.

It should be added that, according to statistics from the Supreme Court, in 2023, only 191 persons were convicted under Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, although 2,301 criminal proceedings were opened in 2023. In 2024, 247 persons were convicted, although 3,106 criminal proceedings were initiated in 2023.

At the same time, in 2023, Ukrainian courts applied special confiscation in only 10 criminal cases, and in 2024, in only 9 criminal cases, which also adds to the overall picture of a systemic crisis in the protection of Ukraine’s state border.