In Ukraine, Parliament is currently studying a law, the objective of which is to reform the conscription system in the country and to establish a mobilization program, in order to attract into the ranks of the army a half a million Ukrainians in the coming months. The stakes are of prime importance, the Ukrainian army lacks soldiers on the front line, it struggles to replace losses on the battlefield, but also to allow soldiers who have been fighting for two years to return to their families .
3 mins
With our correspondent in kyiv,
Ukraine needs to mobilize between 450,000 and 500,000 soldiers in 2024. The Ukrainian army currently numbers 850,000 men.
However, according to fairly reliable estimates, 70,000 soldiers have been killed since the start of the invasion, and 120,000 injured. The other problem is that we must at all costs organize rotations and then create new brigades to hope to defeat the Russian army.
The problem is that people who had real motivation to fight did so in 2022: they are on the front, or they are dead, for some. And now, we must create a legislative framework, which makes it possible to mobilize widely and increase recruits, but while finding a delicate balance, in a democratic society, between the force of the law and respect for individual freedoms.
An ongoing debate on the future of the army
In essence, the law on conscription studied by Parliament plans to lower the minimum age for conscription from 27 to 25 years, reform recruitment centers, which are a bureaucratic hell, increase sanctions for draft dodgers, which would be deprived of driving licenses as well as the right to buy real estate and there is also talk of a maximum duration of service of 36 months, whereas currently, it is unlimited. But we do not yet know which of these ideas will be retained by Parliament.
Now, several experts believe that there should also be incentive measures, such as an increase in salaries, or better consideration of the professional skills of recruits in their assignment, in order to have more volunteer soldiers.
An unpopular law, Zelensky cautious
This bill does not go over well with the population for two reasons. First of all, President Zelensky refuses to take responsibility for a potentially unpopular law, and he sends the message that this mobilization is not political, but a request that comes from the army.
Furthermore, figures from the presidential majority have put forward other scenarios: for example, an exemption from conscription for individuals paying high taxes, or who would make a donation to the budget. Others spoke of a draw, as in the United States during the Vietnam War. These ideas have created a lot of controversy, with many believing that this amounts to discrimination against the poor, and that to escape the trenches, you just have to pay.
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