Kyiv resumes consular services for fellow citizens of military age

Starting Saturday, Ukraine will lift the temporary ban on consular services for men of military age living abroad, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported. Information about this publishes “Voice of America” ​​with reference to AFP and Reuters agencies.

The ban was introduced on April 23. The ministry referred to the need for a technical pause to harmonize with legislation that changes the rules of mobilization into the army.

On the eve of the adoption of the ban, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba said that “staying abroad does not relieve a citizen of his duties to the Motherland.” According to him, he ordered these measures to “restore equality” between men of military age in Ukraine and abroad.

On Saturday, May 18, consular services will resume work for men aged 18 to 60 years.

Ukraine recently lowered the mobilization age from 27 to 25 and tightened sanctions on those who try to avoid being sent to the front.

The suspension of consular services also affected Ukrainians who lived abroad long before the start of the war. According to the Eurostat database, as of January 2024, about 4.3 million Ukrainians lived in the EU countries, of which the share of adult men was about 860 thousand.

Ukraine imposed martial law at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion more than two years ago, beginning the mobilization of civilians into the armed forces and banning men aged 18 to 60 from traveling abroad without special permission.