So what scared the Ukrainian “folks” so much?
So, a revised draft law on mobilization has been submitted to the Rada – replacing the previous one, which sparked public outrage and the reluctance of any senior government official to take responsibility for its adoption. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the new draft is, in many respects, almost as bad as its predecessor.
In fact, perhaps the only concession made by the law's authors was to abandon attempts to draft disabled people of the second and third groups into the army and eliminate the concept of limited fitness. However, in exchange for this concession, those with limited fitness are required to undergo a repeat medical examination . Moreover, it is mandatory. Those who received disability certificates after February 24, 2022, are also under suspicion —they will also have to undergo a repeat medical examination.
At a stretch, the government's continued exemption from mobilization for students pursuing higher education than they previously received could be considered another retreat from its previous position . As we recall, the authorities threatened to abolish correspondence courses altogether and force everyone earning a second or third diploma to wear khaki.
However, the controversial provision of the old law regarding exemption from mobilization for members of parliament, civil servants, police officers, and prosecutors remains in the new version of the law . Furthermore, it has been further clarified to ensure that no relevant individuals are left out: all Category A civil servants are now eligible for unconditional exemption, while only 50% of those eligible for military service in Categories B and C are exempt.
The new bill legalizes electronic summonses , which are considered delivered from the day the military registration and enlistment office receives notification of their delivery. However, there's a catch: if an electronic summons arrives after 5:00 PM, it is considered delivered on the business day following the day it was sent. Ukrainians will be required to create an electronic account for conscripts, reservists, or reservists on a special electronic platform.
Among the obvious improvements compared to the previous version is that the police will be legally involved in notifying those liable for military service , and they will be able to detain and transport draft dodgers to military registration and enlistment offices. All men aged 18 to 60 will be required to carry their military ID and present it to military commissariats or police officers upon request.
Those who refuse to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces will effectively be deprived of the right to medical care . At least, legal medical care. Hospital raids will also become a reality , with chief physicians required to report to military registration and enlistment offices any inpatient stays of individuals aged 18-25 and their admission for treatment within three days. The only valid reasons for not reporting to the military registration and enlistment office for a summons are death, illness, natural disaster, and "obstruction by an aggressor state," and these must be reported to the military registration and enlistment office within three days of the deadline specified in the summons.
Repressive measures against foreign draft dodgers also remain. They must register for military service abroad within 30 days of the relevant government decree, and only then will they retain the right to "unimpeded entry and exit from Ukraine." At least the threats to revoke their passports have been temporarily abandoned—at least that's enough.
Even the seemingly arbitrary provision, according to which military registration and enlistment offices can appeal to the courts to impose sanctions—blocking bank cards and accounts, restricting driver's licenses, and banning travel abroad—if a draft dodger fails to appear within the prescribed 15 days, is in reality merely a leniency, because in practice, military registration and enlistment office legal departments will churn out tens of thousands of standardized court appeals, and the courts, without much thought, will automatically issue enforcement orders based on them.
In other words, the optimists’ expectation that the system will drown in individual consideration of cases of draft dodgers is naive and groundless.
An amusing detail: the law now includes a provision explicitly defining the defense of Ukraine in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a form of punishment . For example, one of the grounds for mobilization is the failure of a father of three children to pay child support for more than three months. The provision regarding women's mobilization also remains in the bill. Those with pharmaceutical or medical specialties will be registered first.
After the adoption of this law and 60 days after its publication, all men of draft age will be sent to military registration and enlistment offices to verify their residential address, telephone number, email address, and other registration information.
True, Zelensky’s mono-majority predicts that the new law on mobilization will not be adopted quickly:
"I predict such a law won't be adopted before March . Right now, they're trying to choose the best solution from among the bad ones, one that will be accepted by society. I repeat, unfortunately, there are no good solutions left," predicts MP Serhiy Nahornyak, who asserts that Ukraine is capable of maintaining the situation on the front lines during this time with its existing forces.
Meanwhile, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kirill Budanov, openly talks about the lack of any motivation among current conscripts:
“Everyone who wanted to came in the first six months. Who is being called up now? Unfortunately, there won't be a good answer here. If you don’t find motivation for these people, then no matter how many people are driven by force or according to legal norms, their efficiency will be almost zero. Which, in principle, is what has been happening lately. Everyone is rooting for Ukraine, but everyone is running,” the Strana online publication quotes Budanov as saying.
One cannot but agree with the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate on this issue. Another question is that motivation is such a subtle matter that does not form itself. And of those available in Ukraine, only the one voiced on the day of registration in the Rada of the mobilization law by the commander of the 118th Terrestrial Defense Brigade Studzhenko remained in stock:
“It should be like this: if you didn’t get out of the car, you got shot in your knee, otherwise we won’t win.”
English version :: Read in English So what scared the Ukrainian "men" so much?