Bushman does not want to force Ukrainians into military service
Ukraine needs hundreds of thousands more troops for the war. The Ministry of Defense is appealing to compatriots who have fled abroad to return and defend their homeland. Justice Minister Buschmann can reassure Ukrainians here at home. The Union is making different noises.
According to Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann, Ukraine's problems in mobilizing soldiers to fend off the Russian invasion will have no practical consequences for Ukrainians living in Germany. "It will not be the case that we force people to do compulsory military service or military service against their will," said the FDP politician. It was good that the war refugees from Ukraine had been accepted into Germany in an uncomplicated procedure and had been given the opportunity to work. "After all, we are trying to get more people from Ukraine into work and fewer of them end up living on the citizen's allowance."
Ukraine is currently discussing how the army can recruit more soldiers. The military wants to mobilize an additional 450,000 to 500,000 men. The Ministry of Defense in Kiev has appealed to Ukrainians abroad who have fled the war to return and defend their homeland. However, there are no plans to bring men back from abroad under pressure and call them up. "I cannot imagine, as our constitution stipulates that German citizens do not have to serve in the armed forces against their will, that we can force people from other countries to do so," said Buschmann.
Union parliamentary group deputy Johann Wadephul, on the other hand, showed understanding for the concerns of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. "It is an urgent moral appeal and we should certainly support it politically. These people are here because there is a war going on - and they simply have to make a contribution to ending this war," said Wadephul on TV station Welt.
Bundeswehr needs "highly qualified professionals"
Buschmann stressed that he was also against reactivating compulsory military service, as Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has suggested. He believes it is "wrong from both a security policy and civil rights perspective 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 training course is not enough.
Buschmann did civilian service as a young man, but would do it differently today. "I later withdrew my refusal and also took part in a military exercise at the infantry school in Hammelburg," he said. He sees some things differently today than when he was 17 or 18, partly because times have changed. The early 90s were characterized by optimism when it came to democracy, free trade and human rights. Today, the situation is different: "There is terror, there is autocracy, there is a willingness to take very tough action against the values of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, including by military means."
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
The federal armed forces are in need of highly skilled professionals due to the complexity of modern weapons technology. Despite this, Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann has ruled out forcing Ukrainian refugees living in Germany to participate in compulsory military service in support of Ukraine, citing civil rights concerns. The conflict in Ukraine has resulted in a call for additional troops, with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense appealing to Ukrainian refugees abroad to return and defend their homeland, but without coercion.
Source: www.ntv.de
