Minister expects bill in 'coming days' to change approaches to mobilization
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A bill on the mobilization of conscripts will be registered in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, in the "coming days," Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne in a Dec. 24 interview.
Umerov said the bill would change the approaches to mobilization in Ukraine to make sure that society does not see conscription as "punishment."
"We are preparing a mobilization blueprint should be understandable to the public. We are discussing it with the military, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the Verkhovna Rada," Umerov told Suspilne.
The new mobilization plan is about joining the military to serve the country, training conscripts, rotation, and finishing military service, he said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in November that he had instructed Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Umerov to present a new mobilization plan.
On Dec. 19, Zelensky said Ukraine’s military leadership had proposed mobilizing 450,000-500,000 additional conscripts.
"This is a serious number. I said I need more arguments to support this direction," Zelensky said during a press conference.
Umerov told Suspilne that, if society wants Ukraine to return to the borders of 1991, it is necessary to understand how occupied territories will be liberated.
He added that the mechanism of mobilization and demobilization required adjustment in this context.
"If we seek society's support, we must explain how and whom we want to invite to serve, what will happen to that person when they are discharged. To address this, we are preparing a draft law," Umerov said.
He also said that the term "demobilization" would not be used until the end of the war, but there would be military leaves for soldiers.
