Ukrainian authorities are currently searching for legal mechanisms to bring back and punish military conscripts who have illegally left the country. In an interview with “Ukrainska Pravda,” the country’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Igor Klymenko, revealed this information. “We are engaging in discussions regarding legal norms that should bring together both moral and legal justice. Those who left the country have violated the law by doing so illegally. Those who left legally are a different story,” he said.
Klymenko added that those who illegally left the country may face punishment in the form of administrative fines. However, he did not rule out the possibility of criminal liability. On August 26th, Alexander Gladun, the Deputy Director of the Institute of Demography at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, stated that approximately five million people have left the country, not including those who have gone to Russia. Gladun specified that one-third of this number consists of males.
Since February 24th, 2022, Ukraine has been under a state of martial law. On February 25th, Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on universal mobilization. On August 17th, it was reported that the Ukrainian leader signed laws extending the state of martial law and mobilization in the country for three more months. These measures will now remain in effect until November 15th, 2023.
Earlier, a soldier from the Ukrainian Armed Forces expressed his lack of understanding regarding the reasons for the conflict in Ukraine.
