Uncertainty and confusion – Ukrainians living in the Czech Republic are in a hurry to organize their documents. It has been reported that consular services will be suspended for those of conscription age while the authorities determine whether they have grounds to be abroad.
Many details of the new reform are still unclear, so even those who have lived outside the country for a long time are worried.
“This is the only place where you can apply for a new passport. Now the embassy sends everyone to recruitment centers, but I can’t go to the recruitment center in Ukraine because they won’t let me back to the Czech Republic,” said Mykola, a Ukrainian citizen. “This is my permanent residence, I pay taxes here, but now I have a problem.”
Those who have settled in Poland are also worried.
“I feel bad. I have a family here – my wife and children. Now I will have to go to Ukraine to prove my identity,” said Ukrainian citizen Vladislav. “Whether the documents will be issued at the military recruitment center, I don’t know. Nothing is clear to me yet.”
As long as soldiers at the front have not been provided with a rotation that would allow them to take a break from the war, many thousands of Ukrainians continue to avoid mobilization.
That’s why Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a controversial mobilization law in mid-April, aimed at boosting the dwindling manpower of Ukraine’s military. The law provides that all those eligible for the service will have to update their information in the electronic register from mid-May.
“Some of these people, by the way, left Ukraine in the 90s or at the beginning of the millennium, so we should only talk about those Ukrainians who broke the law and left the country without permission,” said Polish political expert Lukasz Adamski. “It is in Poland’s interest to keep them here, because the labor market demands it. On the other hand, it is also in our interest to return them to Ukraine, because if Ukraine loses the war, it would threaten Poland.”
It is also not clear how to forcibly repatriate those who have truly escaped from being drafted into the army.
According to Ukrainian parliamentarians, only the country where they stay can deport citizens.
The new mobilization law was debated in the Ukrainian parliament for a long time, with the bill being amended thousands of times. In an effort to reduce the numerical superiority of the enemy, the powers of the authorities to issue subpoenas have also been expanded, as well as penalties for evading the army.
Ukraine has not yet asked to take specific steps in relation to Ukrainians of the appropriate age living in Latvia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed.
