Conscripts from abroad must personally come to Ukraine and register for military service: what to expect

On May 16, 2024, Cabinet Resolution No. 563 entered into force, according to which conscripted men, removed from military registration due to going abroad for more than 3 months, must personally come to Ukraine and register for military service by June 16. The resolution also emphasizes that men who are abroad are subject to military registration on the same basis as men who live in Ukraine.

This resolution regulates and specifies the provisions of the new law on strengthening mobilization and defines the military registration for citizens who are abroad. The law stipulates that men between the ages of 18 and 60 will not be able to receive consular services abroad unless they update their information. As you know, this norm caused a wide resonance and indignation among Ukrainians living abroad.

Along with this, the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 443 of April 23, 2024 made changes to the procedure for obtaining passport documents for men aged 18 to 60 who apply to branches of SE Dokument abroad. It has been determined that men of conscription age will be able to obtain a Ukrainian or foreign passport only at a territorial body/territorial unit of the State Security Service, i.e. on the territory of Ukraine. In the resolution, as well as in the law, it is emphasized that consulates will not provide such services to conscripted men. In addition, the government approved a decision according to which the rules of military registration for men and women conscripted abroad are the same as those that apply to these persons in Ukraine.

It should be noted that earlier in the normative legal acts it was provided for the removal from military registration of conscripts, conscripts and reservists who go abroad for a period of more than three months. This was done after their personal arrival at the TCC with the presentation of documents confirming their departure abroad. However, this rule has now been removed and, in accordance with the changes made by the CMU Resolution No. 563, conscripts, conscripts and reservists who go abroad are no longer removed from the military register at the TCC.

At the same time, according to this resolution, citizens of Ukraine who were removed from military registration in connection with departure outside Ukraine for a period of more than 3 months are obliged to register for military registration by June 16 by personal arrival not only at TCC and SP, as was the case before , but also to the SBU body, relevant subdivisions of intelligence agencies of their choice.

In this resolution, the Government also grants foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine the following functions:

• inform conscripts aged 18 to 25 who are on permanent or temporary consular registration;
• during a special period, to inform conscripts and reservists who do not have a deferment from conscription for military service during mobilization, for a special period, and to facilitate their return to Ukraine;
• to notify the relevant district (city) TCCs, SBU bodies, relevant subdivisions of intelligence agencies of the place of their stay on the military register, according to the list by the means of the electronic interaction system of the state electronic information systems resources (prior to the implementation of such electronic interaction, the notification is sent within 7 days from the date of inclusion in permanent or temporary consular registration or withdrawal from it to the official email address of the military registration authority, which is posted on its official website).

That is, foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine should contribute to the mobilization of Ukrainians. In order to continue using consular services, conscripts must first return to Ukraine and register.

So, laws and regulations are adopted, but whether they will be implemented is highly doubtful. It is quite logical that all citizens of Ukraine should have the same rights and responsibilities. The society is outraged by the fact that some are fighting and others have gone abroad. In connection with this, the state faced a difficult problem of involving all Ukrainians in the mobilization, which is why it chose such unpopular actions. However, there is very little hope that Ukrainian men will come to Ukraine and register for the military. Moreover, this applies to those of them who left the country long before the war.

Judging by personal communication with refugees, as well as comments by Ukrainians on social networks, many of them fear that over time they will lose their property, real estate and land, people believe that they have more rights abroad than in the Motherland. In addition, they understand that large fines await them if they do not register for the military. All this affects their lack of desire to come to Ukraine.

It should be noted that many of the Ukrainians who are abroad will contribute significantly by helping the Armed Forces and civilian victims, but no one considers their position on legislative innovations, and this also negatively affects their desire to return to Ukraine.

Millions of Ukrainians who left their homes after the start of the war have been living abroad for the third year already. The Center for Economic Strategy (CES) conducted a survey for the third time to find out whether they plan to return to Ukraine. Data from a survey of Ukrainian refugees conducted by a research agency were used for the study Info Sapiens.

There are currently between 5.6 and 6.7 million Ukrainians abroad due to the war, including approximately 1.3 million who are in Russia. At the same time, the share of Ukrainians who wish to return to Ukraine decreases significantly every year. Thus, in November 2022, 49.7% of respondents declared their intention to return, but in January 2024, only 26.2% wanted to return. Probably, now this indicator has decreased even more.

The large number of Ukrainians who have lost the desire to return to their homeland, as well as those killed during military operations, leads to a catastrophic demographic situation in Ukraine, the consequences of which will be a global economic and social crisis.