Ukrainian men abroad no longer receive help from consulates

NOS News•yesterday, 1:52 PM

Ukrainian men living abroad and considered suitable for military service will no longer receive help from the consulate. They are only helped if they want to return to Ukraine.

With the measure, Ukraine is increasing the pressure on conscripts abroad. After more than two years of war with Russia, the army has a significant shortage of soldiers. In December, President Zelensky said that the Ukrainian army wants to mobilize up to half a million additional troops.

Since the outbreak of the war, men between the ages of 18 and 60 are no longer allowed to leave the country. They are subject to compulsory military service, with exceptions for, for example, fathers of more than three children and specific professional groups. Anyone who refuses mobilization will receive a fine or ultimately a prison sentence. As far as is known, the group of men who are excluded also continue to receive consular assistance.

But it is estimated that many thousands of conscripts left anyway. Exact figures are not known. The European statistics agency Eurostat estimates that a total of around 4.3 million Ukrainians have fled to countries in the European Union, including around 860,000 men.

In a post on https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/1782698925100589223 the Ukrainian Foreign Minister criticized men who left Ukraine during the war. “It doesn’t work that way. Our country is at war,” said Dmytro Koeleba.

A consulate represents a country, in this case Ukraine, in another country. Ukrainians can go here to apply for and extend a visa, an (emergency) passport and to legalize documents. Conscripted men in other countries can no longer do that.

Koeleba describes the new measure as “fair treatment”. “A stay abroad does not release a citizen from his or her obligations to the home country.”

The measure comes a week after President Zelensky approved a new law aimed at increasing recruits. This mobilization law stipulates that 25 and 26 year olds can now also be called up for military service. Previously, military service was compulsory from the age of 27.

Kyiv has previously been relatively reluctant to increase mobilization rules, partly to maintain popular support.

When war broke out more than two years ago, men were queuing at the recruitment offices. The situation is now completely different. The flow of volunteers has almost dried up. To replenish its depleted ranks, the government is now increasingly applying coercion.