The Maramureș Mountains are a deserted range of peaks lining the southwest border of Ukraine. In April 2022, a group of men in their twenties and thirties attempted to sneak through these mountains into Romania. The Russians had recently invaded Ukraine and these men were trying to avoid the draft. They each paid a group of smugglers several thousand euros, but the snow was thick and the paths were not marked on any map. Over the next few days, one member of the group lost his toes, another lost his life and the rest were arrested by Ukrainian border guards. 

In Walking Europe’s Last Wilderness, Nick Thorpe tells this story and speaks with some of the deserters. Many have fought against the Russians already but refuse to return to the front. They would rather be called traitors than die in combat and leave their young families fatherless. He also visits a town on the Romanian side of the border which has become a key crossing point for those fleeing the conflict. It’s separated from Ukraine by the River Tisa – the only crossing is a bridge made from flimsy wooden planks – and the Romanian police have grown used to fishing Ukrainian men from the water. 

‘In our high mountains, there is less nationalism,’ one local tells the author. ‘People feel that any power, any capital city, is dangerous.’ Thorpe is the BBC’s central Europe correspondent and has previously written about travelling the length of the Danube. His new book is based on a series