Skip to content
Edit post

Zelensky signs bill on conditions for demobilization of conscripts

by Nate Ostiller and The Kyiv Independent news desk February 26, 2024 5:17 PM 2 min read
Ukrainian soldiers adjust a national flag atop a personnel armored carrier on a road near Lyman, Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 4, 2022. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill on Feb. 26 that changes the conditions for demobilization of conscripts.

The finalized version of the bill was published on the parliament's website.

Zelensky originally submitted the bill on Feb. 22. According to the proposal, conscripts whose term of service expired during martial law and whose military service was extended beyond the established period are released from service to the reserve "within the terms determined by the presidential decree."

The parliament's National Security and Defense Committee then added a provision to the bill that allows conscripts to "postpone further mobilization for 12 months," lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said on Telegram after the committee approved the changes earlier on Feb. 23.

Zelensky has previously said that mobilization reforms have to include provisions on military rotation and demobilization to provide relief to long-serving front-line troops.

The parliament on Feb. 7 passed broader bill regarding changes to Ukraine's wartime mobilisation process in the first reading.

The updated bill sets out "transparent rules for the mobilization process, as well as necessary regulation of the rights of military personnel and conscripts."

The bill also specifies clear terms of service for the period of martial law, service exemption for people with all levels of disability, as well as a two-month reprieve for volunteers before the start of service to "resolve personal issues and prepare for mobilization."

More than 4,000 amendments to the bill have been submitted since its passing in the first reading.

Ukraine struggles to ramp up mobilization as Russia’s war enters 3rd year
As Russia’s full-scale war approaches its third year and looks ready to drag on for several more, one topic is dominating the discussion in Ukraine: mobilization. From regional capitals and small villages to the front lines of the east, from the media, the workplace, and the family, Ukraine’s

News Feed

7:15 PM

Ukraine's artillery braces for shell shortage as US halts aid.

The Kyiv Independent's Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko spent a day with an artillery crew from the 28th Mechanized Brigade in the front-line city of Kostiantynivka. Following the recent decision by the Pentagon to halt shipments of certain weapons to Ukraine, a looming shell shortage is once again on the horizon for Ukrainian forces.
9:17 AM  (Updated: )

'There is also good news' — Ukrainian drones hit key military optics plant in Russia, General Staff confirms.

Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's counter-disinformation center, said a drone hit the Azov Optical and Mechanical Plant in the town of Azov, Rostov Oblast. The facility reportedly manufactures critical components for the Russian military, including sights, rangefinders, thermal imaging systems, and fire control equipment for tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, ships, and aircraft.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.