According to a report published by the EU in November, hundreds of thousands of men of service age have fled the war to EU territory.
Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov Ukrainian men between the ages of 25 and 60 living abroad will be conscripted into the army. The matter is reported, for example, by Britain the BBC.
According to the BBC, Umerov told Politico, For Die Welt and For Bild in the interview he gave about “calling” men into service. At the same time, however, he hinted that ignoring the invitation would lead to punishment.
– We are still negotiating what kind of consequences non-arrival would lead to, says Umerov.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence Illarion Pavlyuk later denied the talk of forcing Ukrainians living abroad to the front.
– There are no ongoing discussions about invitations to Ukrainians living abroad. If Ukrainian citizens want to join the army, they come voluntarily, Pavlyuk says, according to Ukrainian media.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi has hinted that around half a million Ukrainian soldiers are currently serving at the front. On Tuesday, Zelenskyi said that the country needs 450,000-500,000 new soldiers.
According to a report published by the EU in November, around 768,000 Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 64 have fled to EU territory since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The figure does not include people who fled outside the EU.
The Ukrainian military is currently struggling with issues related to soldier recycling and vacations. According to the law, professional soldiers and volunteers working under the army must serve until the end of the war. During the year, soldiers are granted only ten vacation days.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin said in a speech earlier this week that there are currently 617,000 Russian troops in Ukraine. The BBC has not been able to confirm the number of soldiers on either side of the war.