Demobilisation in Ukraine has been ruled out until the end of the war, according to a member of the Verkhovna Rada committee on national security and defence and a representative of the presidential faction the Servant of the People, Fedor Venislavsky, Ukrainian media reported.
Fedor Venislavsky, a parliamentarian from the Servant of the People faction and a member of the Verkhovna Rada committee on national security, who is close to President Volodymyr Zelensky, described the innovations in an interview with Radio NV.
First, the interviewer pointed out that there are people on the front lines who have been at war since the first day, 24 February, and just because they do not “complain,” it does not mean that it should not be possible for people to replace them and give them a rest. He replied:
It is very difficult to say about justice in conditions of full-scale war, in conditions of mobilisation in general. There is a duty to defend the country and there is a need to preserve our statehood, the Ukrainian nation, which the enemy is trying to destroy. […] Demobilisation is not only the dismissal of servicemen from military service, it is the transfer of the entire economy, all spheres of life from wartime to peacetime. We cannot talk about any demobilisation measures until the full-scale war is over. Therefore, we can only talk about additional grounds for dismissal from military service.
The final version of the law excludes the norm on the possibility of demobilisation of the military after 36 months of service, which was previously named by the Ukrainian authorities as one of the key points of the document.
Even before this bill was registered, I said that, according to my subjective, deep conviction, it is incorrect to talk about any demobilisation measures during a full-scale conflict. I held this point of view throughout this time, although the committee did discuss those initiatives that were submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Second, the interviewer further asked the MP about the reasons for the cancellation to implement demobilisation:
Today, against the backdrop of increased mobilisation activities on the part of Russia, it is not a correct decision to reduce the capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Further, the interviewer asked about the reasons why the army does not let the lower ranks of volunteers and other military personnel and the top leadership go on leave:
In certain military formations we have (I don’t want to name the exact number) dozens and maybe even hundreds of people of the top officer staff (that’s from brigadier general and above) who are on leave, who are not performing combat tasks, but who could not be dismissed, because under martial law, dismissal from military service, except, as you said, for health or family reasons, was not allowed.
Regarding the seizure of vehicles from citizens, he underlined that Ukrainians will not have their cars taken away for the needs of the army, despite the fact that such a procedure is quite possible during martial law. However, he said that “in matters of possession and use, disposal of its property, the state may limit this right under martial law.”
Earlier, the President of Ukraine signed a law on lowering the draft age from 27 to 25 years and cancelling the category of “restricted fit.” On 11 April 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed a draft law on mobilisation, with 283 MPs voting for it. If passed, all men will have to carry a military ID, and its absence will be grounds for police detention.
