Deportation of draft-age men from Europe unlikely to help Ukraine — Russian official

GENICHESK, May 3. /TASS/. European countries cannot help resolve the troop shortages the Ukrainian army is facing by deporting Ukrainian men back home, Kherson Region Governor Vladimir Saldo told TASS in an interview. Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Berlin would seek to facilitate an early return of draft-age Ukrainian men to their home country. "It won’t save the day for the Ukrainian armed forces. If an army relies on hunting down recruits across Europe and bringing them to the front by force, it means a deep crisis," Saldo pointed out. An army recruited by force cannot be motivated, he noted. "The majority of people who fled mobilization have no desire to die for the interests of Zelensky and his Western sponsors," the Kherson Region governor added.