Ukraine moves to cut off consular services for military-age men abroad
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it would restrict consular services for Ukrainian men of military fighting age who have left the country, potentially cutting off their ability to renew passports or access other essential citizen services. Thousands of Ukrainian men are believed to have left their country rather than risk being drafted to help defend against Russia’s continuing invasion, even though martial law bars men age 18 and over from traveling abroad. Thousands of others were already living abroad, typically to work or study, when Russia invaded in February 2022. The restriction in consular services is in keeping with a recently adopted law on military mobilization, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba posted on X, formerly Twitter. The law is intended to help Ukraine overcome a severe shortage of soldiers on the front lines, in part by expanding the pool of men eligible to be drafted.
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