New-type military recruitment center to open in Zaporizhzhia
The second Ukrainian military recruitment center, reportedly independent from enlistment offices, will open in Zaporizhzhia next week, Ivan Fedorov, the regional governor, announced on March 15.
The Ukrainian government aims to ramp up mobilization efforts in 2024 and has pledged to change the approach to military recruitment, giving more choices for potential conscripts.
The parliament is now considering a new draft of the mobilization law after its initial, contentious version was withdrawn.
The center employees will not serve summons but consult potential service members about available vacancies in the Armed Forces, the specifics of service in certain military units, carry out career orientation tests, and support candidates in the application process, according to Fedorov.
"This is not a military enlistment office, but a place where a person can come and find out in which brigade, branch of the army, or in which profession they can go to serve. A person is guaranteed to get this profession and get to a specific place in a specific unit," he said on national television.
Fedorov added that three military units fighting operations in Zaporizhzhia Oblast have been recruiting new service members in the region since March 1.
The center is a joint project of Ukraine's Defense Ministry and the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration. The first recruitment center of such type was launched in Lviv in February.
Francis Farrell
