Ukraine suspends consular services for military-age men abroad

Ukraine on Tuesday suspended consular services for military-age men abroad except for those returning to Ukraine, a government helpline said, amid a push to boost conscription for the war against Russia. Military-age men abroad would need those papers to receive consular services.

Ukraine on Tuesday suspended consular services for military-age men abroad except for those returning to Ukraine, a government helpline said, amid a push to boost conscription for the war against Russia. Ukraine faces a shortage of troops on the battlefield against a larger, better-equipped enemy nearly 26 months since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement on X that he had ordered measures to be taken to restore what he described as fair treatment for men of mobilisation age. "How it looks 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," he said.

"It does not work this way. Our country is at war." Kuleba said the foreign ministry would clarify the procedure for military-age men to obtain consular services soon.

The Eurostat database estimates about 4.3 million Ukrainians were registered in European Union countries as of January, 2024 of whom about 20% are adult men, roughly 860,000 people. Kuleba's move appears linked to a hotly-debated new law that aims to improve and speed up the way the military mobilises civilians into the armed force.

The law, which comes into effect next month, will require all military-age men to report to draft offices to update their papers, remotely or in person within 60 days. Military-age men abroad would need those papers to receive consular services. "Staying abroad does not relieve a citizen of his or her duties to the homeland," Kuleba said.

In a separate statement, the state passport service said: "Unfortunately, due to technical reasons, the issuance of ready-made documents in foreign branches of SE (State Enterprise) Document has been suspended".

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