In a sign of poor morale of  the separatists’ troops, men mobilized in occupied Donbas are eager to pay thousands of US dollars to get away from the frontline, says Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, citing the phone calls it intercepted.

In a snippet of the phone conversation revealed by the SBU on Thusday, a man is heard telling his son who is allegedly serving in Donbas proxy army unit that he was trying to find connections who may help get his son a ‘de-mobilization’ pink slip. While the older man says he would trade off his car to get money enough to make the discharge happen, his son sounds skeptical, claiming it can’t cost just $2 thousand.

‘It was so when they were raking in people [for conscription], but now when people are here [on the frontline], they have made it [the bribe] bigger. Long story short, demobilization costs $20 thousand’, soldier says bitterly.

The SBU officials assume the occupational officials can have different ‘tariff scale’ for  bribes in such situations with those deployed to the frontline positions now facing 10 times higher rates.  Individuals serving in the aggressors’ army who would love to exit from the war can do it free of charge by calling Ukaine’s security service hotline, said the security agency with an intended wisecrack.