Without military money, there is no military. Nobody will defend Ukraine, the president said.
Men of military age should be in Ukraine and help it. President Vladimir Zelensky said this at a press conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in Tallinn on Thursday, January 11.
According to him, there are no questions for women, children, and the elderly to leave Ukraine en masse in the first days of a full-scale war, because no one knows what will happen tomorrow. But there are questions for men liable for military service who left Ukraine during the war and outside the law.
“If they are of conscription age, they should help Ukraine, and they should be in Ukraine. And now I am not talking about who should be at the front and who should not be at the front,” said Zelensky.
The President emphasized that if the men are not at the front, they are working, and he respects such Ukrainians.
“If you work and pay taxes, you also protect the state. And this is very necessary. But if you are abroad and you are of conscription age and you are not at the front, and do not pay taxes, and traveled to outside the law, then there are questions… Without military money, there is no military. Nobody will defend Ukraine,” said Zelensky, answering the question of whether Estonia should send men of military age to Ukraine.
Earlier it became known that Estonia is ready to conclude an agreement with Ukraine that will allow the mobilization of men abroad.
Let’s recall that in December, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that Ukrainians liable for military service living abroad can be drafted into the army. They say that such scenarios are being discussed in Ukraine.
Later, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine clarified Umerov’s statement. The department emphasized that the minister called on Ukrainians abroad to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but did not mean legal pressure.
And in Germany they announced that they will not force Ukrainian refugees to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and throw them out of Ukraine.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.