Too many media and cultural personalities have failed to return from abroad, officials have said
Ukrainian authorities will ban journalists and culture personalities from leaving the country starting early next month, according to a statement by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications. The restrictions come as the country struggles with a mobilization campaign that has failed to replace military losses in the conflict with Russia.
In a statement on Wednesday, officials claimed too many Ukrainian citizens have taken advantage of letters of assistance issued by the ministry, which allowed them to obtain permission from the State Border Service to travel abroad. While the permission is always granted for a limited period of time, many of those who left have failed to return to Ukraine.
The ministry blamed loopholes in national legislation, noting that while it initiated changes as early as 2022, “the issue remains unresolved.”
The Ministry announced that it will suspend the issuance of letters of assistance to the State Border Service of Ukraine starting on March 3. According to officials, the draft legislation proposes a list of “exhaustive requirements” for granting a letter of assistance for traveling abroad to men of draft age working in the cultural or media sphere.
Ministry adviser Dmitry Zolotukhin said that in 2024 alone, more than 500 men who left Ukraine after receiving letters of assistance, never returned to the country. He added that Ukrainian authorities are conducting criminal investigations into each case.
Ukraine announced a general mobilization in February 2022, barring most men from 18 to 60 from leaving the country. Last year, faced with mounting losses on the battlefield, Kiev significantly tightened the mobilization regulations and lowered conscription age from 27 to 25.
Ukrainian recruitment officers are also increasingly relying on heavy-handed methods to hunt potential draftees in the streets, malls and other public places, often resulting in violent clashes with reluctant citizens. Some potential recruits have decided to try to flee the country, even at the risk of their lives.
