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Passports: Ukrainians must return with immediate effect

In order to encourage men fit for military service to return home, Ukraine has stopped issuing passports in foreign representations.

A decree published on Wednesday on the government's official online portal states that the sending of passports to Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad is "no longer practiced". This means that Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 will only be able to obtain their passports in the country itself in future.

Angry Ukrainians stood in front of closed doors on Wednesday when they tried to renew their passports at the Ukrainian representation in Poland.(Bild: APA/AFP/Sergei GAPON)

Protest in front of Ukrainian representation in Warsaw
This measure has met with little approval among the refugees. On Wednesday, hundreds of Ukrainians protested in front of a passport issuing office in the Polish capital Warsaw because they had not been given their papers (see picture above). Representatives of the authorities justified the stop with "technical problems". The Ukrainian ambassador to Poland, Wassyl Swaritsch, assured the AFP news agency that all applications for travel documents submitted before April 23 would be processed. 

Harsher penalties for conscientious objectors
Kiev tightened the rules for the mobilization of soldiers a good two weeks ago. Among other things, conscientious objectors will be punished more severely and conscripts will be discharged later. The army has recently had great difficulty recruiting new soldiers.