Russia begins illegal conscription of Ukrainians into armed forces in occupied territories of Ukraine – MFA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its strong protest against the forced mobilisation of Ukrainian citizens into the armed forces and other military formations by the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine - the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, as part of the so-called "spring draft 2025."
"Russia's 'conscription' in the occupied territories grossly violates international law, particularly the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, which prohibits the occupying power from forcing persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces, as well as from exerting pressure and propaganda in favour of voluntary enlistment," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry calls on the international community to increase political, diplomatic, sanctions and other types of pressure on the Kremlin regime.
"We call on international organisations, in particular the UN, OSCE and Council of Europe, to take all necessary measures to protect the rights of enslaved Ukrainian citizens, who are subjected to pressure from the occupation authorities, and to document Russian crimes," the statement says.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs appeals to ethnic Ukrainians who are citizens of the Russian Federation in the Kuban, Starodub region, Northern and Eastern Slobozhanshchyna within the current Krasnodar Territory, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, Rostov regions of the Russian Federation: remember your ancestral lineage and roots and do not take part in the criminal war against the homeland of your ancestors.