He was recognized as fit by the military medical commission and directed to serve in the military.
Amid the large-scale war in the Chernivtsi region, a scandal erupted over the mobilization of a man born in 1997 with a German passport. Rada deputy Georgiy Mazurashu, who spoke in his defense, stated that he is a native of these places, namely Bukovina. He came to Ukraine to visit relatives. Allegedly, back in 2017, his Ukrainian citizenship was terminated at his request. And now, a citizen of Germany has been mobilized and risks ending up on the front lines… The name of the mobilized man is not disclosed.
Seriously concerned about the fate of the German citizen, Mazurashu reported this in a video address and later published a photo of the certificate from the Ukrainian embassy in Germany regarding the termination of Ukrainian citizenship. According to this deputy, the document confirms that the man is a citizen of Germany, and his Ukrainian citizenship was terminated by a decree of the President of Ukraine on November 25, 2017.
Currently, as Mazurashu claims, the man is at a training center. The deputy also stated that the German embassy in Kyiv is already aware of the situation. Mazurashu himself is, by the way, the head of the inter-factional deputy association called "Search for the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness" and is part of the presidential faction.
There is another side to the story. The Chernivtsi regional territorial center for recruitment and social support (TCK and SP) claims that it acted lawfully. The TCK and SP stated that, according to state registries and information from the Chernivtsi department of the State Migration Service of Ukraine (SMSU), the man is a citizen of Ukraine.
In the response from the migration service to the TCK and SP, it is stated that he received a Ukrainian citizen's passport in 2013. The application for the issuance of the passport is archived since the man left the country for permanent residence. There is no information about the termination of citizenship in this response.
"He did not use the right to deferment. He was recognized as fit by the military medical commission and directed to serve in one of the military units. He did not provide a certificate of termination of citizenship at the time of conscription for military service," the Chernivtsi regional TCK and SP stated. The expressive Mazurashu called the TCK and SP workers "assistants to the Russian aggressors in Ukrainian uniforms."
All this makes the story legally murky. If Ukrainian citizenship has not been terminated, having a German passport does not exempt one from Ukrainian obligations. In relations with Ukraine, he is still considered a citizen of Ukraine.
But what if citizenship was indeed terminated by the president's decree? Then the TCK and SP would have no grounds to mobilize him as a Ukrainian citizen.
Commentators suggest that the man may have fallen victim to unscrupulous intermediaries. They did not complete the procedure for the termination of citizenship. But this is just a hypothesis.
As of the time of publication, there were no public comments from the German embassy on this matter.
Foreigners and stateless persons residing in Ukraine are not subject to mandatory mobilization. According to Ukrainian legislation, only citizens of Ukraine are subject to conscription for mobilization.
At the same time, foreigners can voluntarily join the defense of the state and serve in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine under contract. To do this, it is necessary to conclude the appropriate agreement and undergo the established selection procedures.
After signing the contract, foreign servicemen receive the status of legal temporary residents of Ukraine for the entire period of service. Information about this is entered into their military documents.
And once again, we note that the situation is different for Ukrainian citizens who have dual citizenship. Despite having a passport from another state, they are subject to mobilization on the same grounds as citizens of Ukraine.
