On Tuesday, it was announced that Ukrainian men between the ages of 18-60 can no longer receive consular assistance abroad. That as part of newly introduced measures to bring home fighting men. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, then signed X:
“A man of conscription age goes abroad, shows the state that he does not care about its survival, then turns up and asks for favors from the state. That’s not how it works.”
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“Being abroad does not release the citizen from the duties towards the home country”.
The following day, the Ukrainian government announced a ban on identity documents being sent abroad to Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60, writes Kyiv Independent.
Poland and Lithuania can help
Both Poland and Lithuania have said they are ready to help Ukraine return men subject to military conscription to the country, writes The Guardian.
– We have proposed for a long time that we can help the Ukrainian side to ensure that people subject to military service go to Ukraine, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s defense minister, told Polsat.
He did not elaborate on the mechanisms that could be used.
Lithuania’s defense minister has said that the country may make similar efforts, but that it is awaiting any decisions in Poland, writes Delphi.
“No immediate effect”
Ukraine’s ambassador to Sweden, Andrij Plachotnjuk, emphasizes to SVT that the country has martial law in place.
– People enjoy freedoms and they have rights, but when we talk about defending our country and its physical survival then we should talk about responsibility, he says.
When it comes to how the new measures affect Ukrainians in Sweden, he says:
– I don’t see any immediate effect on them. We have taken up maybe 13 cases in the last three days where we are giving explanations.