Ukraine's parliament passed a law creating an electronic registry for the purposes of mobilization, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Jan. 16.
As the military seeks to replenish its ranks amid the full-scale war with Russia, the government submitted a draft law on mobilization and military service to the parliament on Dec. 25, outlining plans for further conscription and tightening restrictions on draft evaders. The bill passed on Jan. 16 does not address the larger issue of mobilization but aims to improve the digitalization of Ukraine's army.
The new legislation will create a single digital registry for conscription purposes that will have all the relevant information easily accessible to those overseeing mobilization.
It will make conscripts' contacts available for military recruiters, make it easier to identify who has already taken part in combat and streamline other processes related to mobilization and services for soldiers.
The bill "is critically important for the defense capability of Ukraine," the Defense Ministry said.
Beyond addressing issues with digitalizing the personal information of soldiers and conscripts, the ministry said that the bill would strengthen cyber security and allow for the placement of its IT systems within the cloud storage of NATO member countries.
Shortly after being appointed in September 2023, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced his intention to digitize the conscription process and create an electronic military ID card.
"The task is to digitalize all processes and launch a single registry of conscripts, which will eliminate any corruption risks. Everything that can be digitalized must be digitalized," said Umerov in September.