Ukrainian officials have taken several steps in recent weeks to swell the ranks of an army depleted by more than two years of grueling combat. The government passed a new mobilization bill aimed at increasing troop numbers and has stepped up border patrols to catch draft dodgers.
Now officials are targeting men who have already left the country. This week, the government announced that Ukrainian embassies had suspended issuing new passports and providing other consular services for military-age men living abroad.
Men between the ages of 18 and 60 were prohibited from leaving the country after the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022, but some were abroad before the rule took effect, and others have left illegally since then.