As the war soon enters its third year, the Ukrainian military is pleading for more ammunition, more weapons – and more soldiers.
On December 19, Ukrainian President Zelenskyi said the military had asked him to mobilize 450,000 to 500,000 new soldiers. Zelenskyy then said that he wanted to see a concrete plan for how such a mobilization could take place.
– That is a serious number. I need to hear more arguments to be able to support that plan, he said.
Now a new bill has been submitted to the Ukrainian parliament, with a plan for how such a mobilization will become a reality. Among other things, it is proposed that the mobilization age should be lowered from 27 to 25 years, which means that all Ukrainians between 25 and 60 can be mobilized.
Enlistment should not be seen as punishment
According to the country’s Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, the mobilization plan aims to change the Ukrainians’ attitude to mobilization. Being drafted should not be seen as a punishment, he says according to Kyiv Independent.
The draft law also contains more detailed information on how the recruitment of new soldiers will be carried out, how they will be trained and in what way they will end their service.
Tension between the president and the military
Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, said during a press conference on Tuesday that he is not satisfied with the way those responsible for recruiting soldiers in the country are handling the mobilization. He also denied that the military suggested the figure of 500,000, and claimed that he would never reveal such a number publicly.
Talk of tensions between Zaluzhny and Zelensky began in November when the commander-in-chief warned in an interview that the war was entering a stalemate. Zelensky rejected the stalemate claim, but admitted that difficulties had been encountered in the defensive war against Russia.