Estonia not to compel Ukrainians to return to their homeland for mobilization
In Estonia, there are no plans to deport Ukrainians for military conscription (photo: facebook.com politseijapiirivalveamet)
Estonia has no grounds to compel Ukrainian refugees to leave the country and return to their homeland to join the Armed Forces. To date, Kyiv has not made such a request to Tallinn, states Jannek Mägi, the head of the Department of Border and Migration Policy at the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs representative emphasized that the issue had been discussed with the Ukrainian ambassador.
"Ukraine has not asked us about this. There are no legal grounds in Ukraine to request the extradition of these individuals, just as we have no grounds to extradite them," he explained.
Estonia reiterated the position of Germany
A similar statement from the Estonian government is essentially analogous to the position of the German authorities on the theoretical issue of expelling Ukrainian citizens from their countries for mobilization.
The day before, the German Minister of Justice, Marco Buschmann, stated that if the Ukrainian government wishes to call up men who have left the country into the army, it will have no practical consequences for Ukrainians living in Germany.
"Forcing people to perform military service or undergo military service against their will is not our case," he stated on December 22.
What proceeded thos
On December 21, German publications WELT and Bild published an interview with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov. The media, quoting the minister, claimed that the Ministry of Defense supposedly plans to call up Ukrainians abroad for military service. It was mentioned that this concerned men aged 25-60.
It was also stated that it was an invitation, and those who do not comply with this requirement supposedly face sanctions that are still being discussed. WELT and Bild quoted Umerov as saying, "We are still discussing what will happen if they (men) do not come voluntarily."
Later, the Ministry of Defense clarified Minister Umerov's statement, which was spread by German publications WELT and Bild. They noted that there is no discussion of calling up men from abroad on the agenda.
"There is no discussion of calling up from abroad on the agenda. If Ukrainian citizens abroad want to join (the military), they come to Ukraine and join," said the head of the press and information department of the Ministry of Defense, Ilarion Pavliuk, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.
