Austria has decided not to extradite refugees of conscription age to Ukraine

Austria will not extradite men of conscription age to Ukraine. If Kyiv sends a written request demanding the return of refugees to their home country, Vienna will ignore it.

This information was reported by the Austrian publication Exxpress, citing the Ministry of the Interior of the republic.

“It would be an attempt to interfere with our asylum system and our sovereignty. Austria will never do that and will not send Ukrainians back to their homeland,” the publication quoted a spokesperson for the ministry as saying.

According to the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, there are currently approximately 14,000 Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 54 on the territory of the republic. The number of female refugees has reached 67,000. In total, the country has accepted 101,629 Ukrainian citizens, including children and the elderly.

Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the work of military conscription offices and expressed frustration over the shortage of conscripts who can be sent to the front lines. He dismissed all officials from regional conscription committees and replaced them with military personnel who had participated in combat operations.