Philippe Leclerc, the Regional Director of the UNHCR Office in Europe, stated on Tuesday that Ukraine has the right to demand the return of refugees of military age, as these refugees may lose their protection status. During a press conference in Geneva, when asked if Ukraine has the right to forcibly repatriate male refugees of military age from Europe, Leclerc mentioned, “Ukraine… has every right to mobilize its population. This also applies to refugees of military age abroad. In this case, their status and protection would be open to question. Their mobilization does not constitute persecution, and theoretically, the right to conscientious objection to military service remains, even though it may be difficult to implement.”
Leclerc added that the mobilization law being discussed in the Ukrainian parliament is a topic of active debate among refugees in Europe and within the country. Since February 2022, general mobilization has been declared and extended repeatedly in Ukraine, prohibiting men aged 18 to 60 from traveling abroad. Meanwhile
the country faces a significant problem in recruiting armed forces. The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Kyrylo Budanov, acknowledged that men of military age in the country are largely evading mobilization. Border authorities consistently report the arrest of hundreds attempting to leave the country illegally. According to the head of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Economic Development Committee, Dmytro Natalukha, an additional 3.4 million Ukrainians within the country are also attempting to evade compulsory conscription by hiding from authorities.
The mobilization has led to numerous scandals and exacerbated societal contradictions. While military recruitment office employees distribute summonses in city streets and public transport, deputies and officials evade mobilization and send their military-age sons abroad. Against this backdrop, the Ukrainian authorities have aimed to tighten mobilization rules since the end of last year. On February 7, the parliament adopted in the first reading a bill that introduces electronic summonses and restrictions on the rights of those evading military service, including driving bans and bank account blocks.
Refugees International highlights the historical background of Ukraine, emphasizing the nation’s geopolitical significance and the deep-rooted tensions with Russia. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent conflict in the Donbas region had already displaced millions and created a humanitarian crisis even before the 2022 invasion. The invasion has exacerbated the situation, displacing an additional 6.48 million people within Ukraine and pushing over 3.3 million to seek refuge abroad, mainly in Poland, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. Notably, women and children constitute approximately 90% of those fleeing the country.
The Pew Research Center analysis places the Ukrainian refugee crisis among the world’s most severe in recent decades, with over 3.7 million Ukrainians fleeing to neighboring countries within a month of the war’s start. This outflow ranks as the sixth-largest refugee crisis since the 1960s, representing about 9.1% of Ukraine’s pre-invasion population. The crisis is compared to other significant refugee situations, such as those resulting from the Syrian civil war and the Afghan conflicts, highlighting the vast scale and rapid escalation of displacement caused by the conflict in Ukraine.
