Zelenskyy says Ukrainian men should return to Ukraine at least to pay taxes
World
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that Ukrainian men of conscription age who left the country illegally should return and help the country. He said this at a news conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in Tallinn.
Zelenskyy was asked whether Estonia must extradite Ukrainians of conscription age to Ukraine for mobilisation. In response, the President noted that at the beginning of the Russian military operations, people of different genders and ages were leaving Ukraine.
However, according to Zelenskyy, the situation has changed, so Ukrainians of mobilisation age, especially those who left the country illegally, should return.
"We liberated 50% of the territory occupied at the beginning of the full-scale war and pushed the enemy back. Our guys have been fighting for two years. And there are people who crossed the border during all this, violating the rules and the law. And this is the issue with these people, these men. If they are of military age then they must help Ukraine and be in Ukraine.
I am not saying that some people must be on the frontlines and some must not. There is the law. But there is also a rule of decency, which I told the Prime Minister (of Estonia) about today: one soldier takes 6-8 taxpayers to be financed by the Ukrainian state (we are not assisted in this by anybody). If you are in Ukraine, and not on the frontline but working, anywhere… if you are working and paying taxes then you are also defending the state! And we really need this. But if you are of military age, and you are abroad, and you’re not on the frontline and you don’t pay taxes and you’ve left the country against the law, then there are questions. That’s it," he said.
Zelenskyy added that paying taxes is important because otherwise "there will be no funds for the military. And if there is no money to fund the soldiers, then there will be no soldiers, there will be no one to defend Ukraine. Such are the rules of life," he said.
However, according to Zelenskyy, the situation has changed, so Ukrainians of mobilisation age, especially those who left the country illegally, should return.
"We liberated 50% of the territory occupied at the beginning of the full-scale war and pushed the enemy back. Our guys have been fighting for two years. And there are people who crossed the border during all this, violating the rules and the law. And this is the issue with these people, these men. If they are of military age then they must help Ukraine and be in Ukraine.
I am not saying that some people must be on the frontlines and some must not. There is the law. But there is also a rule of decency, which I told the Prime Minister (of Estonia) about today: one soldier takes 6-8 taxpayers to be financed by the Ukrainian state (we are not assisted in this by anybody). If you are in Ukraine, and not on the frontline but working, anywhere… if you are working and paying taxes then you are also defending the state! And we really need this. But if you are of military age, and you are abroad, and you’re not on the frontline and you don’t pay taxes and you’ve left the country against the law, then there are questions. That’s it," he said.
Zelenskyy added that paying taxes is important because otherwise "there will be no funds for the military. And if there is no money to fund the soldiers, then there will be no soldiers, there will be no one to defend Ukraine. Such are the rules of life," he said.
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