Employees in "strategically important sectors of the economy" will be able to extend their exemption from military conscription, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers announced on Oct. 26.
Meanwhile, an audit of the exemption process is ongoing until Nov. 15 to assess which businesses qualify for critical enterprise status, reflecting the government's effort to balance the country's defense needs with economic stability.
"The reason for the audit is the abnormal increase in the number of critical enterprises and the number of reserved employees. This is done in the interest of strengthening the country's defense capability and preventing abuses," the Cabinet of Ministers said.
Nearly one million people were eligible for exemption in mid-August, according to the Defense Ministry. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in early April that he ordered relevant ministries to introduce "updated, more fair" rules on exempting employees of "critically important" companies from military service.
Ukraine has been struggling to mobilize enough soldiers for the front line to compensate for troop casualties and the need to rotate soldiers who have been fighting since the onset of the full-scale war.
Ukraine's parliament adopted an updated mobilization law in mid-April in order to ramp up mobilization amid Russia's ongoing war. Leading up to the passing of the law, Ukraine launched Reserv+, which the government promoted as a convenient alternative to lengthy waits at enlistment offices.
Another law, signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky just before the mobilization law was passed, lowered the minimum age of compulsory military service from 27 to 25.
In late 2023, Zelensky said that the military, then under General Valery Zaluzhnyi's command, requested drafting 450,000-500,000 people in the face of a prolonged war. Zaluzhyni later denied this figure.
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