Ukraine, which has been fighting a Russian invasion for two years, is in dire need of soldiers, especially as Kiev expects Russia to launch a new offensive in the coming weeks or months.
“The fact of staying abroad does not exempt a citizen from his duties towards his homeland”, argued Kuleba, without mentioning what measures will be taken to return men of fighting age to the national territory from abroad.
Ukraine currently prohibits men of fighting age from traveling abroad, with few exceptions.
However, according to media estimates, tens of thousands of men fled the country illegally to avoid going to the front.
On the other hand, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were already living abroad before the invasion.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister’s statement comes as an influential Ukrainian news portal, ZN.UA, published on Monday evening what it claims to be an official letter signed by a deputy of Kuleba, recommending that Ukrainian consulates suspend from today any consular service for men aged 18 to 60.
The state agency Dokument, which facilitates the issuance of official Ukrainian documents, announced today that it is suspending any procedures abroad for “technical reasons”.
Ukraine, whose army is facing difficulties in confronting Russian troops, recently adopted a mobilization law that aims to toughen punishments for those who refuse to carry out their military service, having lowered the age of mobilization from 27 to 25 years.
