Conscription in Ukraine

Men are conscripted into the Armed forces of Ukraine at age 25.

After serving out the term of service Ukraine's conscripts become part of the inactive reserve and are eligible to be recalled for mobilization in Ukraine until they reach age 55, age 60 for officers. During the war in Donbas, Ukraine instated a partial mobilization to fill needed positions in its armed forces, recalling conscripts who have served before, because of the war many conscripts have also been forced to serve longer than their original 18-month term of service. It was planned that in 2015 Ukraine would undergo three waves of partial mobilization, this would have allowed new troops to replace those serving longer than their original term of service.

All medical workers in Ukraine, regardless of gender, are eligible to be called up for service in case of a national emergency.

Draft dodging is present in Ukraine, as with most nations using the draft. It was reported that between April and August 2014, over 1,000 criminal inquires into draft evasion were opened in Ukraine. Draft evasion can be problematic because, unless a male citizen was unable to serve for medical reasons, an application to receive an international passport of Ukraine may be denied due to a lack of military service, thus preventing the individual from traveling abroad.

In April 2024, President Zelensky signed new conscription laws, passed by the national legislature, that lowered the conscription age by two years, from 27 to 25, and made other provisions that would make it easier for the government to conscript eligible persons, and harder for draft dodgers to evade conscription. The laws were controversial, and largely unpopular. Objections included complaints from families of active service personnel who resented that the laws did not ultimately include an initially considered provision to allow soldiers who had served for 36 months in combat to be relieved and returned home. However, the battle conditions—with Russia advancing with overwhelming force—made it impractical, in the view of Ukraine's leaders, to remove any experienced, active troops from service. Officials pledged the relief provision would be considered in future legislation, without stating when.

Crisis

This section is an excerpt from Ukrainian conscription crisis.[edit]

Mobilization to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to combat the Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in military, political, and public controversies in the country. Among these include efforts from Ukrainian citizens to dodge draft orders and hide or escape the country, legislation to penalize draft evaders and require Ukrainian citizens to register information to streamline draft processes, and the employment of Territorial Recruitment Office (TCC) soldiers to enroll Ukrainians into training with efforts from citizens to resist. The need to maintain enough troops to fight on the frontline in Ukraine to prevent Russia from advancing and jeopardizing Ukrainian sovereignty while adhering to democratic principles and human rights to resist the Russian image of authoritarianism created a difficult policy balance that resulted in the strong internal politicization and controversy.

History

In October 2013, President Viktor Yanukovych ended conscription in Ukraine. At the time 60% of Ukraine's forces were composed of professional soldiers. However, due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, conscription, as well as a partial mobilization, was reinstated in 2014. Ukraine modified the age group of males eligible for conscription for 2015 from 18–25 to the 20–27 age group. In the autumn of 2016, longer deployment of mobilized servicemen to combat area in the east of Ukraine was ceased.

On 1 February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the changing of the military training system, leading to the end of conscription by 1 January 2024. By the same date, there would be an increase in the number of professional servicemen by 100,000, to be achieved by better pay, with all military personnel to be guaranteed at least three times the minimum wage, and better housing provision. However, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine upended those plans, along with massive popular mobilization into the Territorial Defence Forces. On 28 February 2022, President Zelenskyy offered release for prisoners with combat experience if they join the fight against Russia.

As of late August 2024, Ukrainian commanders blamed recent Russian advances in Donetsk on newly mobilised Ukrainian soldiers. They blamed the conscripts for having poor training, retreating too easy, not shooting at the enemy or simply walking away from a battle.

A commander with the 47th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine) said “Some people don’t want to shoot. They see the enemy in the firing position in trenches but don’t open fire. ... That is why our men are dying…When they don’t use the weapon, they are ineffective.”

By 15 September 2024, Ukraine announced it will extend the basic training of its conscripts from three months to a longer, but unspecified period of time, after repeated complaints about the effectiveness of newly recruited Ukrainian soldiers. The new basic training program will start in October-November, according to the Ukrainian military commander Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi.