Ukraine forces military-age men to return home

The law aims to overhaul the mobilization system, including by toughening penalties for draft dodgers and forcing men to maintain their military records.

The suspension of consular services was necessary to “resolve technical issues” related to the implementation of the new legislation, the ministry said.

It says men will be able to access consular services once the law takes effect and "after updating their military records."

“Ukrainian male citizens aged 18 to 60 years who have valid military registration documents will have full access to consular services,” the message says.

Ukrainian men have been prohibited from leaving the country since the invasion began, with some exceptions.

But some lived away from home before the war began, and Ukrainian media estimates thousands more left the country illegally.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba previously stated that “staying abroad does not relieve a citizen of his responsibilities to his homeland.”

He said he ordered “fair” measures to be taken against “men of military age in Ukraine and abroad.”

Even before the official announcement, Ukrainian media published a document announcing this measure.

This was met with some criticism and concern, with many public figures warning that it would be counterproductive.

“This will not force men who went abroad… to return to Ukraine and fight,” former Deputy Justice Minister Sergei Petukhov wrote on Facebook.

Economist Sergei Fursa called the measures “revenge” and accused the government of acting based on “populism” that risks “splitting society.”

The head of the Ukrainian branch of the Helsinki Group, Alexander Pavlichenko, said that this step could negatively affect Kyiv’s reputation abroad.

Kyiv has ceded territory to Russian forces since late last year as it struggles with labor shortages and delays in much-needed aid from Western allies.

It took months for the Ukrainian government to pass legislation facilitating mobilization.

But lawmakers were criticized for eliminating a clause that allowed soldiers who had been fighting for more than 36 months to return home.

The new laws are intended to bolster Ukraine's fighting capabilities but have sparked anger in a country exhausted by more than two years of fighting invading Russian troops.