Ukraine creates group on foreign military personnel — Politico Europe
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has created a working group to improve service conditions, legalize residence and resolve issues faced by foreign military personnel and their family members. As Politico reports, this comes amid volunteers’ complaints about problems with migration documents, combatant status, medical care and payments.
As of August, about 16,000 foreigners from 72 countries were serving in Ukraine’s Armed Forces. According to Liudmyla Kalenchuk, head of the Department for the Protection of Servicemembers’ Rights at the military ombudsman’s office, around 8,000 foreign volunteers serve in the Ground Forces, while another approximately 8,000 serve in the National Guard, the State Special Transport Service and other units.
Problems with residence permits
A law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada last year requires foreigners serving in the military to submit documents for a temporary residence permit by November 10. Deputy Defense Minister Liubov Halan said that without changes, after that date a significant number of foreigners defending Ukraine could formally find themselves in the country illegally.
At the same time, recruitment information for volunteers states that a military contract is grounds for legal long-term residence in Ukraine. Halan explained that many service members cannot complete the permit procedure because they are carrying out combat missions far from their units’ deployment locations and cannot simultaneously collect documents and visit the migration service.
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Complaints from service members and their families
This year, the military ombudsman’s office received more than 300 appeals from foreign volunteers and their families. The complaints concerned obtaining combatant status, early termination of contracts at the service member’s request, and the timely provision of medical care.
According to Kalenchuk, more than 10% of appeals come from families trying to obtain official confirmation of whether a service member is missing or has been killed. Foreign fighters also complained about delayed payments, shortages of supplies, a lack of proper medical care and problems obtaining documents confirming participation in combat operations.
Parliament is also working on legislative changes intended to simplify procedures for legalizing the residence of foreign military personnel, extend the relevant deadlines and reduce the bureaucratic burden.
