(Reuters) – Ukraine’s government has submitted an amended draft bill that would tighten the rules on army mobilisation for debate in parliament. The bill, if passed, would allow Kyiv to call up more people and tighten punishments for draft dodging.
An earlier version of the bill drew criticism from some politicians and members of the public. It was rejected by lawmakers in parliament and sent back for changes to be made.
The amended version has retained the main proposals of the initial one, but it has softened some of them.
WHY HAVE THE PROPOSALS BEEN MADE?
Ukraine began mobilising civilians after declaring martial law in February 2022 when Russia invaded. An influx of volunteer fighters helped at first but their number has dwindled. Nine thousand criminal cases have been opened into draft evasion, according to Kyiv.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last month the military had proposed mobilising 450,000-500,000 more people. Army chief General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi has said the figure takes into account the military’s plans and projections of possible losses.
PUNISHMENTS FOR DRAFT EVASION
The bill sets out punishments for those who flout the law on mobilisation, which governs how civilians are conscripted into the army during martial law.
The bill would allow courts to freeze assets and impose restrictions on going abroad or driving a vehicle for people who fail to abide by the mobilization rules and do not report to registration centres.
Citizens of military age would be obliged to carry military registration documents with them and police would have the right to check them at any time.
MOBILISATION AGE
The amended bill proposes lowering the age people can be mobilised for combat duty to 25 from 27. Such a move would allow Ukraine to call up more people to replenish its reserves. The exact figures have not been made public for security reasons.
Parliament approved this same change last spring but it did not come into force because Zelenskiy did not sign it.
ONLINE CALL-UPS
Draft offices would be able to issue online call-ups to people via an account that citizens would be obliged to have.
Such a step would make it harder to evade draft officers who currently give call-up papers to civilians in the street or send them to people’s known home addresses.
DEMOBILISATION
The bill proposes discharging soldiers who have served continuously for 36 months during martial law. This is a sensitive issue for families of soldiers who have been fighting for almost two years and are exhausted. There is currently no time limit on wartime military service.
Nonetheless, demobilisation in this case would not be automatic.
MILITARY REGISTRATION FOR THOSE ABROAD
Martial law prohibits men of military age from going abroad and there is no common procedure to call up people abroad.
It is unclear what the process would look like as the bill only says it is to be determined by the government.
The draft proposes tracking people who are abroad and requiring them to have up-to-date military registration.
Receiving consular services for things like passports would require citizens to present their military registration documents.
OTHER PROVISIONS
Under a new provision in the bill, people who received a suspended sentence would be allowed to serve. Convicts are currently banned from any type of service – either compulsory or volunteer – in the army.
The bill removes the right of some categories of civil servant to defer their conscription. The Defence Ministry introduced this change to make military registration fair and equal for all.
After mobilisation, all people must undergo a compulsory two-three months training to be sent to a combat area.
PARLIAMENTARY PROCESS
Now the bill has been submitted to lawmakers, it needs to be approved by a committee before being sent to parliament for debate in two or three readings. It is likely to change during that process. Once passed, it has to be signed by the president before it becomes law.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Tom Balmforth)
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