Belarusian volunteers may be dismissed from the Ukrainian army because they cannot renew their Belarusian passports

Anastasia Makhamet, Deputy Representative of the United Transitional Cabinet for Social Policy on working with volunteers and their families, told "Suspilne" about a legal trap in which Belarusian volunteers in Ukraine may find themselves, according to the Telegram channel of the United Transitional Cabinet.

According to new norms of Ukrainian legislation, by November 10, all foreign military personnel serving in the Defense Forces must undergo a legalization procedure. For this, it is necessary to present the original identification document.

However, some Belarusian volunteers lost their passports during their service. It is impossible to renew them in Ukraine, and returning to Belarus for people who fought on the side of Ukraine threatens criminal prosecution.

"Migration legislation directly states that you must present the original document. Then the State Migration Service makes a copy, stamps it to confirm it's correct, and returns the original to you. But you must bring it and show it to the service employee. And a person who physically does not have a passport cannot enter any procedure," explained Anastasia Makhamet.

Thus, a person can serve in Ukraine for years but not be able to comply with the requirements of migration legislation. According to Makhamet, she is aware of at least eight cases of Belarusian volunteers losing their passports.

At the same time, there is a risk that after the expiration of the legalization period, such military personnel will begin to be dismissed from service.

"Unofficially, I heard such a position from a number of military units: if nothing changes, then by the end of the specified period for legalization, people without passports will be dismissed. On what grounds? That's a separate question. Perhaps they will be allowed to write a letter of resignation at their own request, or they will have to be dismissed under an article for violating migration legislation. This is a very complex issue, because the person has no documents, but simply expelling them from Ukraine – well, that's not very good either," noted Anastasia Makhamet.

One possible solution, she says, is to include a military ID card in the list of documents that confirm a person's identity and legal status. Makhamet is preparing an appeal to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to clarify the possibility of such a solution.

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