The government of Ukraine announced today that the country has suspended consular services for its male citizens of military age living abroad, except for those cases when it is necessary for the persons concerned to return to Ukraine.
The essence of the decision is obviously to lure home those men who fled abroad from mobilization and war, and to punish those who are not willing to do so.
In his statement on X, Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba wrote that the aim of the measures is to ensure that men of military age “are treated fairly.” Kuleba emphasized that the situation when someone flees war and then requires state services cannot be accepted. He underlined that staying abroad “does not exempt Ukrainian citizens from fulfilling their patriotic obligations.”
The State Passport Service also confirmed the measure, indicating that the issuance of ready-made documents in their foreign branches was suspended due to “technical reasons”.
According to the estimate published by Eurostat in January, about 4.3 million Ukrainians live in the European Union, including about 860,000 adult men.
Source: Reuters
Cover image source: Getty Images
