At the same time, lawmakers left the possibility to avoid the draft for state law enforcement and police, and government officials. Private and state enterprises can exempt employees from military service.
The Ukrainian parliament chose not to include in the bill a clause allowing soldiers to return home after three years of service, which had been the standard policy before the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The move prompted widespread outrage among those who have spent the last two years fighting Russian forces, leaving them feeling abandoned and with little hope of returning to civilian life or even enjoying a proper vacation.
Soldiers who already serve in the army were infuriated by the fact that the bill does not give them an end-date, but at the same time leaves plenty of legal possibilities for the new recruits to avoid being called up or deployed, Ukrainian serviceman Yegor Firsov said in a Facebook post.
“This ambiguity shows us we’re being fooled,” he said.
Ukraine’s military had urged parliamentarians not to allow soldiers to demobilize, arguing it could impact the already bleak situation on the front lines.
“Currently, we can’t weaken the Defense Forces,” Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman Dmytro Lazutkin said Wednesday.
