The Kyiv Independent
News, analyses, investigations, opinions, podcasts and more. On-the-ground reporting from Ukraine
Estonia will not send away Ukrainian men with expired passports.
The Estonian Interior Ministry has no plans to forcibly send Ukrainian draft-aged men out of Estonian territory, Anneli Viks, the ministry's advisor on citizenship and migration policy, said this on April 30 in an interview with Estonian media outlet ERR.
Ukraine has not publicly appealed to any of its partners to force out or otherwise restrict its male citizens living abroad. However, Kyiv recently suspended new applications for consular support and banned sending documents and passports to Ukrainian men of draft age – 18 to 60 – who reside outside of Ukraine.
With some exceptions, Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving Ukraine during the war while martial law is in effect.
Viks said that Ukrainian refugees with expired passports will not be sent out of the country, but they will not be able to travel or apply for visas.
These residents can still apply for temporary residence permits or prolong the valid ones even without a passport. The identity verification can be carried out with other documents, the ministry's advisor added.
By April 26, 6,500 Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 had a residence permit under the temporary protection in Estonia. In total, nearly 31,000 war refugees had temporary residence permits with protection status in the country by late April, ERR said.
In October 2023, the EU officially prolonged the Temporary Protection Directive for Ukrainian refugees until March 2025. The EU also expressed its willingness to extend the protection beyond this date.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski previously said that Poland would wait for Kyiv to "take the initiative" on how to approach bringing Ukrainian men back to Ukraine.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte were in favor of helping bring back draft-aged men to Ukraine, but also only after consultations with Ukraine and the EU.
New York Times: NATO member states considering sending military instructors to Ukraine.
Some NATO member states are discussing the possibility of sending military instructors or contractors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian troops and assist with equipment repairs, the New York Times reported on May 16.
Record longest air raid alert in Kharkiv, six explosions recorded.
At around 1 a.m. on May 17, a lengthy air raid alert was finally lifted in Kharkiv Oblast after officials reported numerous Russian drone strikes and a ballistic missile threat.
Russian Foreign Ministry declares British defense attaché persona non grata.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has declared Adrian Coghill, the military attaché of the British Embassy in Moscow, persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within a week.
Reuters: Sri Lanka to send delegation to return mercenaries fighting on behalf of Russia.
According to reports, a top official in the Sri Lankan government stated that the government will send a delegation to Russia to investigate the fate of hundreds of nationals reportedly fighting in the war in Ukraine.
Reuters: G7 will support using frozen Russian assets revenue to fund Ukraine.
The ministers are set to meet on May 24, where they will work out the details to come to a final decision before a summit in Italy in June.
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