Umierov said that Ukraine wants to draft men living abroad into the army: the Defense Ministry made a clarification

The Defense Ministry wants to mobilize men living abroad. Men who do not comply with the request will face sanctions.

This was stated by Defense Minister Rustem Umierov during an interview with WELT TV, Bild, and Politico. However, the Defense Ministry later denied the minister's statement.

Despite the ban, many Ukrainian men went abroad to avoid the draft. As noted in the publication, soon men aged 25 to 60 living in Germany and other countries will be invited to report to the recruiting stations of the Armed Forces.

Umierov said that this would most likely take place in the form of an invitation, but he noted that sanctions would be imposed if any of the conscripts did not respond to this request.

"We are still discussing what will happen if they do not come voluntarily," he said.

Later, the Ministry of Defense denied the information about the possible conscription of Ukrainians abroad. Illarion Pavlyuk, a spokesman for the Ministry, said in a comment to Babel that the quotes of Rustem Umierov used in the media were distorted. In general, Umierov spoke to journalists about recruitment and the importance of explaining to citizens abroad why they should join the army.

It is worth noting that the Ukrainian military is considering mobilizing another 450 to 500 thousand soldiers to defend itself against a Russian invasion. However, the financial and political conditions for this have not yet been determined. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called this mobilization process a "sensitive issue."

Umierov emphasized the importance of justice in this matter. He expressed the opinion that future conscripts should be clearly informed how they will be trained, what they will receive in terms of military equipment, where and when they will serve, and when they will be released.

As a reminder, MP from the Servant of the People party, Mariana Bezuhla, said that parliamentarians want to regulate the issue of military service for women. The innovations in the draft version of the bill stipulate that women must be registered with the military and undergo basic military training.

Subsequently, during the final press conference on Tuesday, December 19, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy clearly answered whether he supported the provisions on women's mobilization proposed in the new mobilization law. If the Verkhovna Rada adopts such a document, the head of state will not sign it.

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