Ukraine tightens pressure on military age men abroad as part of wider mobilization rules overhaul

Staying abroad “does not relieve a citizen of his or her duties to the homeland,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warns.

Ukraine is tightening pressure on men of call-up age living abroad by temporarily suspending consular services, amid a wider overhaul of the country’s mobilization rules aimed at beefing up its defenses against Russia’s invasion. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced the suspension in a post on social media Tuesday, saying that it was needed to “restore fair attitudes” toward conscription. “Under the circumstances of Russia’s full-scale aggression, the main priority is to protect our homeland from destruction,” Kuleba said, adding that staying abroad “does not relieve a citizen of his or her duties to the homeland.” “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. It does not work this way. Our country is at war,” Kuleba said. Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released additional details about the measure on Wednesday, saying in a statement that the suspension would affect men aged 18 to 60, who are temporarily abroad, except if they are applying for identity cards to return to Ukraine. “The decision to suspend the process of providing consular services to the category of Ukrainian citizens specified by law is a temporary step due to the need to resolve issues related to the military registration of citizens of mobilisation age who are abroad,” the ministry said.