Ukraine's parliament has passed a new law to make it easier to call up new recruits for the war with Russia. Earlier versions provided for demobilization after 36 months of service. The eventual omission of the clause was a blow for battle-weary troops, some of whom have been fighting since the war began.

Kyiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine's parliament has recently passed legislation designed to streamline the process for mobilizing new recruits to join the ongoing conflict with Russia. This new mobilization law represents a strategic shift in how Ukraine intends to reinforce its military capacities amid escalating tensions. The original drafts of the legislation included provisions allowing for demobilization after 36 months of service, however, these provisions were removed in the final version of the law. This decision has been met with disappointment among existing troops, some of whom have been on the front lines since the onset of the conflict.



Ukraine approves new mobilization law

We're at a training ground near Kiev. In just a few weeks' time, these soldiers will head back to the front lines, where they've been since Russia invaded two years ago. Last year, I got five days off. Lots of guys in my unit have families, have gone abroad. Some have even become grandfathers and have never met their grandkids. Perhaps they never will. This isn't Oleksandr's first experience of war. He served in the army after 2014, when Ukraine was fighting Russian-backed separatists in Donbass. He left in 2020 to start a business and a family. His wife and his three-year-old daughter have barely seen him since he went back to his unit after the full-scale invasion. If you were told you'd be serving until 2025, you'd know that if you survive, you'd be going home. If people can't make plans, they get depressed, and then they start making mistakes. Oleksandr tells us it's not a question of wanting to leave straight away. It's about feeling some kind of control, being able to plan your life. That, he's convinced, would boost morale. Demobilisation after 18 months on the front lines, or a total of 36 months' service, were both discussed when this law made its way through Parliament. It was central to the rationale for the new law, calling up new soldiers to give veterans a chance to recover. In the end, any mention of demobilisation was dropped, with little prior warning. Only returning prisoners of war get an exception. Russia is preparing to mobilise at least 300,000 men over the next six weeks. That's in addition to 150,000 doing their military service. There could be another wave of mobilisation in the autumn. In this situation, demobilising experienced soldiers would be suicidal. These soldiers' wives and mothers protesting near Parliament don't expect their husbands to come home right away. What they want is clarity. Our husbands are being punished for their patriotism, for volunteering to fight. When the war started, my husband told me, I can't just sit around. I have to serve. Someone needs to defend this country. If I don't go, who will? My husband's exhausted. He's only 29 and he's already gone grey. For now, no one in Ukraine's military or politics wants to make promises to these families that they know they'll most likely have to break. What they can do is make sure it's not just those who volunteered in the early days of the war that are left defending Ukraine's front lines.

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Ukraine Invasion