Lithuania’s top officials support Ukraine’s move to recall Ukrainian men of conscription age
A proposal by Ukraine to repatriate its male citizens aged 18 to 60 currently living overseas has found backing from top Lithuanian officials, with President Nauseda stating that Vilnius must cooperate with Kyiv "in all senses."
The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, and Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte supported the idea of returning to Ukraine their men of conscription age who live abroad.
LTR reported, citing Nauseda, that Ukraine must have the means and tools to “invite its young men to serve the homeland.” “We must cooperate with Ukraine in all senses,” he believes.
The Lithuanian Prime Minister allowed the country to take some steps to help Ukraine return men.
“We could probably look for ways to make sure the person has fulfilled their mobilization duty or is exempt from it when we consider extending their temporary residence permit,” she said.
At the same time, Simonyte added that these measures should be discussed at the EU level as well, given that a temporary protection regime for Ukrainians is in force on its territory.
On 23 April, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba confirmed reports about suspending consular services for Ukrainian men of mobilization age staying abroad. Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving Ukraine during the war while martial law is in effect.
The Foreign Ministry later indicated that after the mobilization law comes into force on 18 May 2024, “the process of accepting and considering applications for consular actions will continue, taking into account the new requirements arising from the provisions of the law.”
Read also:
- Ukraine’s new mobilization law falls painfully short of frontline expectations
- Russian GPS jamming puts civilian flights at growing risk, Baltic ministers warn
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