DAccording to Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, Ukraine's problems in mobilizing soldiers to repel the Russian invasion will have no practical consequences for Ukrainians living in Germany. “It will not be the case that we now force people to do conscription or military service against their will,” the FDP politician told the German Press Agency. It is good that the war refugees from Ukraine were accepted into Germany in an uncomplicated process and were given the opportunity to work. “We are trying to ensure that more people from Ukraine get into work and fewer end up living on citizens’ money,” he added.
There is currently discussion in Ukraine about how the army can recruit more soldiers. The military wants to mobilize an additional 450,000 to 500,000 men. The Defense Ministry in Kiev has appealed to Ukrainians abroad who have fled the war to return and defend their homeland. But there are no plans to bring men back from abroad under pressure and call them up.
CDU politician Wadepuhl shows understanding for Ukraine's concerns
“I cannot imagine, since our constitution stipulates that no one has to serve as a weapon against their will for German citizens, that we can then force people from other countries to do so,” said Buschmann. Union parliamentary group vice-president Johann Wadephul (CDU), however, showed understanding for the concerns of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. “It is an urgent moral appeal and we should definitely support it politically. These people are here because there is a war going on there – and they simply have to make a contribution to ending this war,” said Wadephul on the TV channel Welt.
Buschmann emphasized that he was also against reactivating compulsory military service in Germany, as Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) had brought up. He believes it is “wrong from both a security policy and a civil rights perspective to try to force young people to do anything against their will.” Weapons technology is so complex today that the Bundeswehr needs “highly qualified professionals”. A short course is not enough.
Zelensky appeals to Ukrainians' fighting spirit before Christmas
Before Christmas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to the fighting spirit of his compatriots not to let up in their defense of the country. What is needed is a “maximum amount of attention for defense, a maximum of effort for the state, a maximum of energy so that Ukraine can achieve its goals,” Zelensky said in his video message in Kiev on Thursday. The time to rest will come later.
This year, Ukraine celebrates Christmas officially for the first time according to the Western model on December 25th and no longer just according to Orthodox customs on January 7th. “Now before Christmas, everyone in our state must remember that this is a time for concentration, a time for work,” Zelensky said. The fate of the country will be decided in the Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions attacked by Russia. Some of the areas are occupied by Russian troops.
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