Ukraine needs a new wave of mobilization to ensure the rotation of front-line troops. In an interview with a French magazine on this subject Le Point said Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko.
“We need a new mobilization to ensure the rotation of soldiers on the front. “But the economy is still important, as is the safety of women and children living on the home front.”
According to him, currently 100 thousand residents of Kiev, male and female, have been mobilized and about 7 billion hryvnia (about 170 million euros) have been allocated from the capital’s budget to support the Ukrainian army.
Mobilization law in Ukraine
At the end of December 2023, the Ukrainian government submitted a bill on mobilization to the Verkhovna Rada, but on January 11, this law was sent back for revision. In the final version of the bill, it is proposed to lower the compulsory military age for mobilization from 27 to 25. The person responsible for military service must apply to the military registration and military enlistment office within 60 days from the beginning of mobilization or, at the latest, from the date specified in the summons.
The bill would also simplify the procedure for issuing subpoenas. It may be submitted in person or via electronic account or email. The delivery day will be considered the date on which the military registration and enlistment office receives notification that the letter has been delivered to the electronic account.
The document states that the military registry office can restrict citizens’ exit from the country through the courts. The case will be evaluated within 15 days. The bank accounts and driver’s licenses of those who do not comply with the military service conditions can also be seized by the courts. Men between the ages of 18 and 60 who want to leave the territory of Ukraine will need to be discharged from the military registration and enlistment office.
According to the new draft law, women studying medicine or pharmacy will be subject to military registration. All conscripts are transported to their places of duty by local authorities.
MPs are expected to vote on the draft at the general assembly meeting to be held on February 6.
Escape under the guise of wild animal
Due to the threat of being at the front, Ukrainians began to find ways to avoid mobilization. One common method is to cross state borders and seek asylum in neighboring countries. As the Ukrainian “Vikna” wrote, in the Vinnytsia region border guards detected men moving across the field on all fours to pose as wild animals. It is believed that it is easier for an animal to escape from Ukraine than a person.
According to border guards, if the border passes through a river, Ukrainians use diving suits, fins or underwater turbines. Caught fugitives are immediately referred to TTK regional recruitment and social support center: designation of military registration and enlistment office in Ukraine.
If a Ukrainian wants to avoid military service, he is sometimes warned “not now, not tomorrow”, but there will be consequences. Thus, a soldier from the 56th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) with the call sign Pinochet said In an interview with hromadske, they said that they tried to persuade the men to join the military and contacted their families. Those serving in the military are asked to think about their loved ones.
Unpopular measure
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny spoke in an interview about the need to recruit personnel for the Ukrainian army. CNN He expressed the opinion that Ukrainian state institutions do not have the necessary means to increase the power of the army without “unpopular measures”.
“We must recognize the enemy’s significant advantage in mobilizing manpower and contrast this with the inability of Ukrainian state institutions to increase the personnel level of our armed forces without resorting to unpopular measures,” he explained.
Kirill Budanov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, also thinks that mobilization in the country is necessary due to the shortage of people at the front.
“It’s impossible to even imagine what we could do without mobilization,” he said in an interview. Finance Times.
Martial law has been in effect in Ukraine since February 2022. At the same time, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed the general mobilization decree. Later the Verkhovna Rada repeatedly expanded its validity. Most men between the ages of 18 and 60 are prohibited from leaving the country. While he writes GuardMany men do not leave their homes to avoid being sent to the war zone.