The Prime Minister expressed that the government has not received any request from Ukraine to react in particular. “We have no plan to sort or search for these people in any special way and send them back to Ukraine. (..) This is currently a matter of Ukraine’s internal policy,” Silina said.
In December, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov called on all citizens, regardless of their location, to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The head of the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Illarions Pavlyuks, explained that currently the Ministry of Defense does not plan to put pressure on Ukrainian citizens living abroad, but emphasized that national defense is the constitutional duty of every citizen.
Lithuanian President Gitans Nausėdas and Prime Minister Ingrīda Šimonīte expressed their belief on Monday that Lithuania should help Ukraine to return men of conscription age living abroad to their homeland.
“Ukraine needs mobilization plans,” Nausėda said in a debate on Lithuanian Public Radio, stressing that “Ukraine must provide means and tools to encourage young men to serve their homeland. We must cooperate with Ukraine in every way.”
