The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications has announced it will suspend issuing letters of support that allow conscription-eligible artists and media workers to travel abroad. The suspension takes effect 3 March.

The ministry reports the decision comes after “numerous cases where individuals who received State Border Guard Service permission for temporary foreign travel did not return to Ukraine within the established timeframes.”

The suspension will remain in place until new regulations are implemented. The ministry has developed draft amendments to the government resolution “On rules for crossing the state border by citizens of Ukraine” from 27 January 1995.

These amendments aim to establish “exhaustive requirements” for the ministry’s decision-making process regarding support letters for conscription-age men working in culture, information security, strategic communications, and linear audiovisual media.

Culture and Strategic Communications Minister Mykola Tochytsky said in October 2024 that “every fifth cultural figure who received permission and went abroad does not return to Ukraine.” He also mentioned that a database should have been created in recent years to regulate artists’ foreign travel.

Men aged 18-60 have been prohibited from leaving Ukraine since 24 February 2022, when President Zelenskyy declared martial law following Russia’s invasion. State Border Guard Service representative Andriy Demchenko confirmed this restriction began immediately after martial law was implemented.

The manpower shortage has become a critical challenge for the Ukrainian Armed Forces as the war with Russia enters its fourth year. Thousands of draft-age men have attempted to cross the border illegally to avoid mobilization.

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