UA Parliament proposes tweaks to mobilization bill, students and scientists in focus

The New Voice of Ukraine
·2 min read
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Ukrainian military near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, December 14, 2023
Ukrainian military near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, December 14, 2023

Several amendments to a mobilization bill intended to revamp Ukraine’s conscription system have been announced by Ukraine’s parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, according to a Jan. 10 Telegram post by MP Oleksiy Honcharenko.

Read also: Ukrainian parliament to decide on new conscription law next week

New amendments include deferments for:

  • students, regardless of specialty

  • individuals engaged in internship training

  • scientists and lecturers with at least three-quarters time employment at their primary workplace, rather than full-time employment as requested in the government’s version of the bill

Other proposed amendments would:

  • eliminate e-mail draft notices

  • reduce the number of terms under which conscripts can be released from service

  • introduce a basis for personnel whose relatives were killed during the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) to be released from service

Honcharenko noted that the Defense Ministry had also agreed to an amendment preserving deferment from conscription for all people with disabilities.

Read also: Parliament begins review of new conscription law with top military leadership in attendance

The mobilization bill which, among other things, proposes changing the conscription age from 27 to 25 years; abolishes compulsory service, and allows call-up notices to be sent to local military recruitment offices electronically, has been under consideration by the National Security Committee since Jan. 4, 2024. Secretary Roman Kostenko said that the Committee had questions regarding almost all 73 pages of the bill.

Meanwhile, human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets has criticized many of the bill’s proposals, arguing that certain provisions would restrict the rights of Ukrainians and contradict the Constitution.

In total, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, has registered five versions of the mobilization bill since Dec. 25, 2023. It is expected to consider the bill on Jan.10, with a vote following on Jan. 11.

*In Ukraine, disabled individuals are sorted into three groups. These groups regulate access to social welfare benefits and exemption from conscription, among other effects. 

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