Ukraine is trying to mobilize more recruits for the war against Russia with a new law. Because there are hardly any volunteers left for military service. The regulations for the registration of men fit for military service are being tightened.
In order to strengthen the army, which is suffering from heavy losses in the fight against the Russian invading troops, the Ukrainian parliament has passed a reform of the mobilization rules. After months of deliberations, the controversial bill was approved.
The change in the law is intended to enable the government in Kiev to call up more soldiers. The army has been pushed onto the defensive at the front not only because of a lack of weapons and ammunition, but also of personnel. MP Olexander Fedienko said the passage of the mobilization law was a “message to our partners that we are ready to take back our territory and that we need weapons.”
Stricter regulations for those fit for military service
Mainly, the amendment tightens the rules for registering those fit for military service. When it comes into force, all men of military age between 18 and 60 are obliged to carry their military passport with them during the current period of martial law.
The men also have to update their personal data within two months, otherwise they face penalties. In the future, new Ukrainian travel documents abroad will only be issued with existing military documents. However, these are only available when returning to Ukraine.
In addition to fines for ignoring call-ups and muster notices, there will also be a risk of driving licenses being revoked in the future, with a few exceptions. Planned account suspensions in this case were discarded.
Also not included in the final text of the law is the right of soldiers to quit their service after three years. It was said in advance that a separate law would be passed for this purpose. How controversial the negotiations over the legal reform were is shown by the fact that more than 4,000 amendments were submitted after the first reading in February.
Criminals may soon move in
President Volodymyr Zelensky recently signed a law lowering the age for reservists from 27 to 25 years. This means that men between the ages of 25 and 60 can be drafted into military service. Women can volunteer for military service in Ukraine.
Ukraine may soon also want to conscript convicted criminals into the military. Parliament approved a corresponding bill in its first reading on Wednesday. This stipulates that prison inmates are eligible for parole if they agree to join the army. However, according to MPs, prisoners who have been convicted of sexual violence, murder and crimes against humanity or against national security should not be considered.
Many conscientious objector
After two years of war, the Ukrainian troops are exhausted, there are significantly fewer volunteers and there are many conscientious objectors. The commander of the ground forces, Alexander Pavlyuk, urged Ukrainians at the beginning of the week to enlist in the army or to be prepared to serve in the army.
“We must understand that no one will be able to sit back and relax,” Pavlyuk wrote on Facebook. “No matter how much help we get, no matter how many weapons we have, we are missing people! The equipment doesn’t drive itself, the weapon doesn’t fire itself, and the drone doesn’t fly itself.”
Despite the ban on conscripts leaving the country that has been in effect since the beginning of the war, tens of thousands of people have fled abroad across the green border with forged documents. In the country itself, more than 70,000 people are wanted in the Poltava, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions alone. Since the beginning of the war, the public prosecutor’s office has initiated more than 46,000 cases of desertion and unauthorized removal from the troops, with a rapidly increasing trend. More than a quarter of this will occur in the first quarter of 2024.
The army, national guard and border guard together have well over a million women and men under arms. The remaining mobilization potential was estimated by the Ukrainian portal texty.org.ua at around five million.