Laenemets said that if Ukraine needs it, Estonia can search for and transfer people to Kyiv.
Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets said that his country is ready to extradite men liable for military service to Ukraine to replenish the Defense Forces. His statement is quoted by ERR.
According to him, if Ukraine needs it, Estonia can search for the person and hand him over to Ukraine.
“In general, we know where these people are, what they are doing. Many of them work and have a place of residence in Estonia,” said Laenemets.
He noted that there has been no official request from Ukraine, but the country’s Interior Ministry has repeatedly appealed to both the Ukrainian ambassador and Interior Minister Igor Klymenko with a request to inform the internally displaced persons if necessary.
Earlier, the head of the Border and Migration Policy Department of the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Janek Mägi, said that Ukraine “has no reason to ask Tallinn to extradite Ukrainian men of military age.”
- On December 21, in an interview with Welt, Defense Minister Umerov said that Ukrainians of military age living in Germany and other countries should join the ranks of the Defense Forces in 2024. He also spoke about sanctions for those who do not fulfill this requirement.
- Defense Ministry spokesman Pavliuk explained the Defense Minister’s words: because the citizen abroad did not receive a summons, the threat to Ukraine has not disappeared. However, there is no question of a mechanism for punishment or legal pressure on those who are not in Ukraine.
- At a press conference on the results of 2023, Zelenskyy said that the military command proposed to mobilize an additional 450,000-500,000 people. This will cost the state UAH 500 billion.
