EU mulls return of military-age men to Ukraine amid conscript shortage
Ukraine is currently experiencing a shortage of weapons, war fatigue, and a decrease in the number of conscripts, leading the European Union to discuss the return of men of military age to Ukraine, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said in an interview with RMF24 on July 25.
There are "hundreds of thousands" of potential conscripts in the EU who are obliged to defend their homeland, and Poland is at the forefront of helping Ukraine prepare these individuals for military service, he said.
“It is possible to introduce conditions for Ukrainians in the EU that will encourage them to fulfill their duty to defend their homeland,” Sikorski said.
Earlier, Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that Poland was ready to assist Kyiv in returning men of military age to Ukraine.
Liable for military service Ukrainians abroad
Ukrainian news outlet ZN.UA on April 22 reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine ordered all diplomatic missions to temporarily suspend services to men of military age, except for the processing of documents for returning to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on April 23 confirmed this information. Later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine published an explanation on the provision of consular services to men of military age, calling it a temporary step.
“After the law on mobilization enters into force on May 18, the process of accepting and reviewing applications for consular actions will continue, taking into account the new requirements arising from the provisions of the law,” the Foreign Ministry said in an explanation.
Lithuania has also announced its intention to help Ukraine return men liable for military service.
The German government stated that Ukrainians would be able to stay in the country even with an invalid passport and that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's decision to stop providing consular services to men abroad would not affect their refugee status.
Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers on April 24 issued a resolution prohibiting the issuance of documents to men aged 18 to 60 who are outside Ukraine through the state-owned document agency.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Administration on April 26 said that remote issuance of documents to Ukrainians abroad would no longer be possible.
The Passport Service published an explanation that men of military age would no longer be able to obtain passports abroad from the State Enterprise Document with some exceptions, but later, on June 4, the Cabinet of Ministers extended the work of the foreign offices of the State Enterprise Document for another six months.
Men liable for military service who were removed from military registration because they traveled abroad for more than three months were required to come to Ukraine in person and visit the military registration and enlistment office to register for military service by June 16, stated in Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 563 on May 21.
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