In the Verkhovna Rada, they propose allowing men under 24 to leave the country

A draft law, No. 13685, allowing men under the age of 24 to leave Ukraine has been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.

The bill’s card appeared on the parliament’s website.

Among its authors are the chairman of the Rada’s Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Oleksandr Zavitnevych, along with many other members of the Servant of the People party.

The explanatory note to the draft states that according to Ukraine’s law On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization, men under 25 who have completed basic military training or basic military service are not subject to conscription. At the same time, the law does not provide for conscription of men aged 17 to 25. Thus, while men in this category cannot be drafted, they also cannot leave Ukraine. The only exceptions are contract servicemen under 25, as well as Ukrainian university students aged 18–22 who are enrolled full-time in bachelor’s degree programs.

“At the same time, a large number of men aged 18 to 25 who work or study abroad have been unable to return to their families in Ukraine for more than three years, since under current restrictions they would not be able to leave the country again. Moreover, some families deliberately send their 17-year-old children abroad, knowing that once they turn 18, leaving will become impossible. There is also a growing number of high school students leaving Ukraine to continue their education in secondary schools abroad,” the note explains.

The authors conclude that the ban on men aged 18–25 leaving the country creates serious obstacles for young people wishing to return to Ukraine and provokes attempts to circumvent the restriction, often involving criminal activity. This, in turn, makes it necessary to review the rules on leaving the country.

It should be recalled that earlier Volodymyr Zelensky had initiated a proposal to allow men up to the age of 22 to travel abroad. The Cabinet of Ministers had promised to work out the issue by the end of last week but failed to do so.