Facing hard wartime choices, Ukraine puts spotlight on men abroad who are absent from fight

Ukraine is facing hard choices as it decides who to call up to the fight against an all-out Russian invasion that has lasted more than two years.

Men as young as 25 can now be drafted, down from age 27 previously. This week, the government said military-age Ukrainian men — with limited exceptions — cannot have their passports renewed outside Ukraine and consular services won't be available to them in the weeks ahead.

"Staying abroad does not relieve a citizen of his or her duties to the homeland," said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, underlining Kyiv's position on citizens' obligations to their country.

Ukraine is already estimated to have roughly one million people in uniform. But after such prolonged fighting with Russia, there is need to find fresh recruits to ensure Kyiv does not lose the ongoing battle.

"This is ... a short-term need that must be fulfilled," said Khrystyna Holynska, a California-based assistant policy researcher at the RAND Corporation think-tank.

If this can't be met, Holynska said there may be no point in discussing longer-term needs for the state.

"Ukraine's existence as a country is at stake," said Holynska, who holds a PhD in political science from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

And the longer the war goes on, the more people that will be needed to carry on the fight — a reality that is playing into some tensions over those who have been able to avoid the front lines so far.

"Volunteers seem to have almost run out," Ukrainian journalist Andriy Kulykov, the chairman of Hromadske Radio, said via email, quoting a Ukrainian soldier who recently spoke to his media organization.

Reaction to Kyiv's consular-service pullback for military-age men outside the country has ranged from upset to shrugged shoulders.

Anatoly Nezgoduk, a 21-year-old Ukrainian studying abroad in Canada, did not see reason to criticize what Kyiv is doing.

"I understand very well that there is a war in our country, so I can't call this move weird, illegal or incorrect," he told Reuters. "In a way, this distances me from Ukraine's official representation abroad."

Kulykov, the Hromadske Radio journalist, said Ukrainians understand there are legitimate reasons why some people are exempt from mobilization — such as those looking after relatives with disabilities.

"Those who do not have a legitimate excuse are viewed by many as cowards and traitors," Kulykov said.