Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas said that her country will not extradite men of military age to Ukraine.
Estonia will not extradite men to Ukraine
In an interview with The Kyiv Independent, Kallas said that during the visit of the President of Ukraine to Estonia, they discussed the issue of Ukrainian refugees, especially men of mobilisation age.
President Zelenskyy said that there are people who are in the battlefield and there are also people who pay taxes in Ukraine so that the state could fund the soldiers. But there are also people who are in other countries, for instance, in Estonia.
Kallas said such people can be in Estonia if they follow the rules. If they are in the country, the EU gives them temporary protection.
So we definitely will not do anything to extradite these people. This is Ukraine’s duty to turn to the people who remain here and convince them to return in order to help their homeland.
Estonia's assistance was allowed with the mobilisation of Ukrainians
In December 2023, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Estonia, Lauri Läänemets, said that his country is ready to help Ukraine in mobilisation if necessary.
According to him, approximately 7,500 Ukrainian citizens of military age live in Estonia but are exempt from mobilisation.
According to Ukrainian legislation, single parents, parents of at least three children, parents of children with disabilities and people who care for a loved one are also exempt from mobilization. That is, there are quite a lot of criteria according to which a person is not subject to mobilisation.
A corresponding agreement between the states is needed for Ukraine to mobilise its citizens in Estonia. According to Läänemets, Estonia is ready to conclude such an agreement with Ukraine.
