What began as a planned hike across the Carpathians turned into a two-week ordeal for two men from the Kharkiv region, who were detained just 100 metres from Ukraine’s border with Romania while trying to cross illegally.
According to Ukraine’s border guard service, the pair were stopped near the village of Velykyi Bychkiv in Zakarpattia on Friday evening by officers from the Mukachevo detachment.
The men, who had plotted their route independently, began their journey in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, intending to cross the border through rugged mountain terrain far from official checkpoints. Over the course of 14 days, they claimed to have covered 150 kilometres on foot. But with 10 kilometres to go, they abandoned the highland route and instead tried to approach the border via the Tysa River.
Despite being physically well-prepared, the duo admitted they had underestimated the difficulty of their route and the demands of mountainous terrain.
Their plan ended abruptly when they were intercepted by a border patrol, which authorities say is equally effective on riverbanks, plains and mountain paths.
The men now face administrative charges for attempting to cross the state border illegally under Article 204-1 of Ukraine’s code of administrative offences. Their case will be reviewed in court.