“This is a completely political issue. From the side of the Migration Department, I can answer – the fact that mobilization is announced in Ukraine or another country, according to our legislation, has no effect on us. Any reaction, if there was one, would be a completely political decision of Lithuania,” said Evelina Gudzinskaitė, head of the Migration Department, to Eltai.
“Some national legislative initiatives should be taken to implement those decisions, but, again, a huge question would arise as to how this would be compatible with EU law,” said E. Gudzinskaitė.
More than 29 thousand people have residence permits in Lithuania. Ukrainians of draft age
According to the data of the Migration Department, out of almost 71.5 thousand Currently, Ukrainians with residence permits in Lithuania, men of conscription age between 25 and 60 years old, are provisionally slightly more than 29,000.
However, it should be noted that there is no guarantee that all these persons have stayed in Lithuania. Because citizens of Ukraine who have received residence permits in Lithuania have the right to move freely in the countries of the Schengen zone, the Migration Department announces.
This week, the Minister of National Defense, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, speaking about the mobilization announced in Ukraine, said that Lithuania is currently not considering measures to help Ukraine recover men of conscription age who have left the country. However, the minister also did not rule out the possibility of considering such methods after Poland makes a decision on this issue.
ELTA reminds that this week Ukraine stopped issuing new passports to men of conscription age living abroad, based on the legislation announced on Wednesday. It is not yet clear to what extent and for what period this measure will be applied.
The announcement came a day after consular services for men aged 18 to 60 living abroad were suspended pending the implementation of a new mobilization law. Consular procedures in the country “remain unchanged”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine clarified on Wednesday.
Ukrainian men have been banned from leaving the country since the beginning of the invasion, with only a few exceptions allowing men to cross the border legally. Some fled illegally, others, who lived abroad until 2022, did not return when the war broke out.
Kyiv’s forces are facing difficulties on the battlefield, including a shortage of troops. Many soldiers from 2022. February fights with little or no breaks. After a long delay and criticism, the country’s government has been forced to take new measures to recruit more soldiers and fight draft evasion.
