The Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov gave an interview to the German publication Bild. Citing his words, the publication writes that the Ministry of Defense plans to conscript Ukrainian men aged 25-60 from abroad for military service — they will be "asked" to appear at the conscription points of the Armed Forces, otherwise "sanctions will be applied" to them.
"We are still discussing what will happen if they [the men] donʼt come voluntarily," Umerov noted.
Clarification of the Ministry of Defense:
In a comment to Babel, the head of the press and information department of the Ministry of Defense Hilarion Pavlyuk explained that Bild shifted the emphasis. The minister generally spoke to journalists about recruiting and the need to convey to Ukrainians abroad how important it is for them to join the army. There are no discussions on the mechanisms of conscription into the ranks of the Armed Forces from abroad on the agenda.
- Ukraine has been under martial law and general mobilization since February 24, 2022, the date of the full-scale invasion of Russia. They were extended several times. The Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) last extended martial law and mobilization on November 8. They will be valid until February 14, 2024. Apparently, after that they will be extended again for 90 days. Only men who are in Ukraine or voluntarily return are being mobilized.
- The Ministry of Defense is separately developing a military recruitment program. Lobby X, Work.ua, Robota.ua and OLX were involved in this.