Ukrainian consular missions operating in foreign countries do not serve conscripted men who are not willing to risk their lives for the survival of their country, Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba stated on Tuesday.
According to Ukrainian media, Kiev’s diplomatic missions in several Western countries stopped processing requests for this kind of service on Tuesday.
The already finalized documents are not handed over to the Ukrainians either – reported the local media.
Kuleba confirmed that he ordered the policy change and that it was intended to encourage the men to return to Ukraine and the front lines.
“What does it look like now: a man of conscription age went abroad, showed his state that he does not care about its survival, and then comes and wants to receive services from this state. This is not how it works. Our country is at war” he wrote on social media.
On Monday, Ukrainian media first publicized the decree, which denies consular services to all men between the ages of 18 and 60. Kuleba described his decision as “just” and in line with the reform of the military mobilization system signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky this month. The changes include different penalties for avoiding queuing.
According to EU officials, 650,000 Ukrainian men of military age live in the member states. Kiev has identified this stock as a significant untapped human resource for the armed forces.
Changes to military service laws include lowering the conscription age from 27 to 25, revising available exemptions and requiring potential conscripts to update their personal information with the Department of Defense to make it easier for them to be issued with conscription . After the reform comes into effect next month, all men between the ages of 18 and 60, regardless of their eligibility, will have to carry documents proving their registration at the military service office.
When asked in early April how many soldiers Kiev intends to mobilize, Zelenskyy gave an evasive answer and claimed that Moscow plans to deploy an additional 300,000 soldiers. Russian officials say that is not true, as the army is attracting enough volunteers to meet manpower targets.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that Ukrainian military losses since the start of hostilities in February 2022 will approach 500,000.
