Germany’s Justice Minister Marco Buchmann has stated that German laws do not permit the extradition of Ukrainians summoned by Kyiv for military service in their own country.
Buchmann, in an interview with Welt am Sonntag, said, “I understand the motives of the Ukrainian government in calling Ukrainian men abroad to serve in the army. As Justice Minister, I can say that German law does not allow their extradition.”
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Amirnov announced in an interview with Bild in December last year that Ukraine intends to conscript Ukrainians who left abroad in 2024.
The newspaper reported that 221,571 Ukrainians aged between 18 and 60 have entered German territory since February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the country’s military leadership had asked him to mobilize an additional 450,000 to 500,000 individuals following severe human losses among Kyiv’s forces during its “counteroffensive.”