Defense Ministry: Medical commission members can no longer use own discretion on conscripts' eligibility
Members of the Military Medical Examination Commission can no longer use their own discretion when determining a person's eligibility for the military, the Defense Ministry said on May 4.
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law on April 2 canceling the "partially eligible," which stipulates that certain health issues exempt conscripts from specific kinds of military activities.
The law came into force on May 4, reducing the categories to "eligible" and "non-eligible." Men between the ages of 18 and 60 who were listed as "partially eligible" must be re-examined.
The list of illnesses that could grant a given person an exemption must be evaluated, the Defense Ministry said.
This change will prevent corruption and draft dodging during the medical examination, the ministry said.
"In fact, the individual evaluation of (a given candidate's) eligibility was canceled. From now on, Military Medical Examination Commission members will not be able to make decisions on their own but will be guided only by clear rules," the statement read.
Ukraine's government aims to update the legal framework around mobilization to ramp up its number of available troops in 2024.
In early April, Zelensky approved laws to lower the minimum age of compulsory military service from 27 to 25, allowing younger men to be mobilized, and to create the online register for conscripts.
Ukraine's president also signed an updated mobilization bill on April 16, one of the key points of which is the right of disabled soldiers and those who have returned from captivity to discharge themselves.
Elsa Court
