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Ukrainian parliament passes legislation to allow non-citizens to join Ukraine's armed forces

Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to let foreigners and stateless persons serve in the country's armed forces, the parliament's press service said.

The legislation obtained support of 229 lawmakers in the parliament, passing the least required mark of 226 votes needed to get the bill approved, said the statement on the parliament's website.

The new legislation envisages that foreigners and stateless persons can join the Ukrainian military under professional contracts to serve as junior officers, the statement said.

"There is every reason to hope that after giving legal opportunities to foreigners and persons without citizenship to serve in the Armed Forces, our country will get several combat capable, experienced and motivated military units with the total capacity of up to 1,000 people," said an explanatory note to the bill. Endit