Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that the government plans to mobilize Ukrainians abroad. Find out what the Ministry of Defense says about this and whether it is possible to draft men who have left Ukraine

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In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that in 2024, Ukraine plans to mobilize Ukrainians who had previously left for other countries. In particular, it concerns men aged 25 to 60. Umerov noted that they will have to report themselves to the recruitment centers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and if they ignore them, they will face certain consequences. However, it is not clear what kind of consequences he is talking about. 

"We are still discussing what will happen if they do not come voluntarily," the Ukrainian minister said in an interview.

How this is possible and what the Ministry of Defense says about the possible mobilization of Ukrainians abroad - we will analyze further in the article.

Will men be mobilized abroad?

According to Illarion Pavliuk, Head of the Press and Information Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense is not currently developing any measures or tools that could create pressure or coercion on Ukrainian citizens who are liable for military service and have traveled abroad. At the same time, he added that the defense of the country is a constitutional duty of those who have left the country.

"It is important that, despite the absence or presence of these mechanisms, citizens abroad should understand that they also have this duty, because you are citizens of Ukraine. We understand the complexity of the circumstances that, among other things, forced people to leave. But the full-scale war has been going on for almost two years," he said during the telethon.

At the same time, in a commentary for the BBC, Illarion Pavliuk noted that Ukraine currently does not even have any plans to mobilize men abroad.

"If we are talking about a mechanism of punishment or legal pressure on those outside Ukraine, this is not on the agenda now. There are more than enough tasks related to recruiting, improving the mobilization mechanism, improving the training system, etc." he said.

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Will the volume of mobilization be increased?

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, citizens have been mobilized, but at a press conference on December 19, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the military and the General Staff had offered him to mobilize 450-500 thousand people. According to the President, such measures will cost Ukraine approximately UAH 500 billion.

At the same time, on December 22, Illarion Pavliuk noted during a telethon that Ukraine would still mobilize the required number of people in one way or another and explained that recruitment is only one of the tools and does not replace general mobilization, because "it is primarily an improvement of the service, approaches to mobilizing those people who are ready to serve in the Armed Forces. They are offered to join the Armed Forces voluntarily, without waiting for mobilization or a call-up, and choose a specialty.

"But this cannot mean that only those who want to serve will do so, and that only non-combat specialties can now be chosen, despite the fact that the army really needs various specialties. Of course, we are interested in recruiting as many people as possible through recruitment mechanisms. But since there is a need to protect the state, we will still recruit the number of people needed to defend Ukraine. Whether through recruitment or mobilization mechanisms, we will still have to recruit," explained the Ministry of Defense spokesman.

We remind you! Despite the martial law in Ukraine, men of military age manage to cross the border illegally. Read more about the penalties for illegal travel and whether violators can be imprisoned in our previous article.

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