“This is very unfair”: the law on the mobilization of the Ukrainian military has caused new controversy

Controversial text. Ukrainian lawmakers began considering a controversial mobilization bill in second reading on Wednesday, sparking fresh protests over changing views on the return of long-serving soldiers.

The conscription of new men has been controversial in Ukraine for more than a year, while the army lacks manpower and ammunition in the face of Russian troops advancing on multiple fronts. A bill to simplify recruitment was passed by the Ukrainian parliament on first reading in February after the government’s first version failed last year, but the second version has since undergone major amendments.

According to some deputies, one of the key points was noticeably removed from the text: the demobilization of soldiers who had been fighting for more than 36 months, a measure that was nevertheless eagerly awaited in a country exhausted by more than two years of Russian invasion. . . “At the request of the head of the army and the minister of defense (…) the clause on exemption from military service after 36 months was removed,” explained Irina Friz, a member of the parliamentary committee on defense. Some financial benefits for soldiers were also eliminated, she said.

Mobilization of convicts

Instead, the government will be tasked with developing another bill “on improving military rotation mechanisms.” MPs also voted on Wednesday on the first reading of a bill allowing for the mobilization of prisoners. “We must give those convicted the opportunity to fight,” co-author Alexey Goncharenko defended himself on Telegram, promising that those convicted of murder or rape will not be enlisted in the army.

The decision to abolish the demobilization clause immediately caused controversy, especially since the current conscription system is considered by many Ukrainians to be unfair, ineffective and often corrupt. Sergei Gnezdilov, a civil rights activist now in the military, condemned on Facebook the “brutal turnaround” that caught soldiers by surprise.

Yuri Gudymenko, a military man and politician, for his part, emphasized that the bill now contains “neither serious sanctions for fraudsters, nor serious benefits for newly mobilized people.” “Therefore, this will not have the expected result – an influx of new militants,” he said on Facebook.

According to Defense Ministry spokesman Dmitry Lazutkin, who admitted that the troops were “exhausted,” the need for such a decision was the “impossibility of weakening the defense forces” at a time when “the (Russian) offensive continues on literally all fronts.” According to him, the government must introduce a new bill on rotation in the army within eight months.

” Very tired “

Soldiers interviewed by AFP said they were in “shock”. “This is a disaster. This is simply cruel. What is on their mind?” reacted 46-year-old Alexander, who serves in the eastern region of Donetsk. “A person who knows when he will be discharged will have a different attitude towards the service. If we If we are like slaves, then… this will not lead to anything good,” he predicted.

Evgen, a 39-year-old paratrooper also based in the region, has been serving in the army for a year and a half. He did not see his wife, who went abroad, for two years, and last year he had only 10 days off, which he spent for treatment. “These soldiers who have been fighting for a long time (…). They are very tired,” he notes. “99% of men want to relax, take a break, and live a normal life. We live at home,” he says.

Saying he was “scandalized,” Eugene explains that “many” soldiers are facing divorce because they can’t see their wives. “There are soldiers who have not returned home for a year. This is very unfair,” he says.

In early April, President Vladimir Zelensky already approved lowering the age at which one can mobilize from 27 to 25 years to expand the circle of potential conscripts. In December 2023, he said the army had offered to recruit up to 500,000 additional personnel, a number that has since been reduced by the new army chief Alexander Syrsky.