Man, 24, Marries 81-year-old Cousin
A 24-year-old man in Ukraine married his 81-year-old disabled cousin and neighbours say it was all a craven ploy to escape military service, according to a news report.
Alexander Kondratyuk allegedly wed Zinaida Illarionovna, 81, to take advantage of the country’s rules that excuse a man from military service if he is looking after a disabled wife, Metro UK reported.
Military service is otherwise compulsory for all male citizens 18 and over, according to the report.
The oddly matched pair wed in the village of Baykovka, near the city of Vinnitsa in west-central Ukraine, the outlet reported.
Kondratyuk denied marrying Illarionovna to be granted an exemption from the military, and expressed strong affection for his octogenarian better half, according to the report.
His wife told local media outlets her husband takes good care of her. But neighbours have alleged that Kondratyuk is never around the area and that the only sign of their marriage was the certificate he brought with him whenever the draft board showed up, according to New York Post.
“[Illarionovna] is much more likely to be visited by her nephews, grandchildren and sisters than by her supposed husband,” one neighbour told a local TV channel.
Reports indicate that the matter is being investigated, but army officials have said the case is closed, according to Metro.
Kondratyuk had a right to have his service deferred because he is the guardian of a registered disabled person, according to Aleksandr Danilyuk, the commissioner who is in charge of the Vinnitsa Commissariat, which handles conscription.
Since he has shown his marriage certificate and another document proving he lives at Illarionovna’s home, no action can be taken, the commissioner said.
But lawyer Roman Korchenyuk told Metro there’s still a way for Kondratyuk to be drafted.
“If they prove that there is no valid marriage and that there is no common household, then he can be called up to do military service,” he said.
