In the two months since the relaxation of exit rules from Ukraine, almost 100,000 young Ukrainians have left the country. This is reported by The Telegraph, citing data from the Polish border service.
According to Polish border guards, since the end of August, when Ukraine relaxed restrictions introduced to ensure a sufficient number of soldiers, 99,000 Ukrainians aged 18 to 22 have crossed the border. By comparison, the British army currently has about 70,000 personnel.
After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, martial law was imposed in Ukraine, prohibiting men aged 18 to 60 from traveling abroad, even if they were not subject to mobilization.
After three years of active fighting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky approved new rules allowing Ukrainians to leave the country before reaching the age of 23. This was part of changes to the draft policy, which lowered the age of mandatory mobilization from 27 to 25 amid a shortage of personnel at the front. It was hoped that giving young citizens greater freedom of movement would encourage them to return later and voluntarily join the army.
The innovation was also intended to prevent the trend of families sending their sons abroad in advance before they turn 18 to avoid possible mobilization. In August, Zelensky warned that such a practice “tear young people away from their country.”
According to the Polish border guard service, 45,300 Ukrainians aged 18 to 22 crossed into Poland from January to the end of August. Over the next two months, that number more than doubled to 98,500, or about 1,600 departures per day.
