According to local Ukrainian media, the Ukrainian government has submitted law to Rada “On amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of Ukraine on strengthening liability for military offenses.” Ukrainian MP Tara’s Melnychuk first reported this to Ukrainian media and the draft law No. 10379 was available on the Rada’s website, but has since been removed.
According to Pravda Ukraine, the draft bill will lower the conscription age from 27 to 25, establish compulsory military training beginning at age 18 and enhance the governments ability to crack down on conscription loopholes. Their analysis of the draft reads below:
- “hanging the conscription age from 27 to 25 years;
- improvement of the procedure for military registration of conscripts, conscripts and reservists;
- providing an opportunity for servicemen who have been released from captivity to rest and undergo recovery by providing them with additional leave with preservation of monetary support for a duration of 90 calendar days;
- exclusion of fixed-term military service as a type of military service. Yes, all conscript military servicemen are proposed to be released into the reserve;
- establishing that conscripts who performed military service during the legal regime of martial law and were released from reserve service are not subject to conscription for military service during mobilization within two years from the date of release from military service. Such persons may be called up for military service during the specified period upon their consent;
- exclusion from the list of conclusions of military medical commissions of the conclusion on limited suitability for military service;
- introduction of basic military training for citizens of Ukraine for up to 3 months for all citizens aged 18 to 25 at all educational institutions;
- introduction of optional basic military service up to the age of 25 for those who have not completed basic military training;
- establishment of restrictions on the rights of Ukrainian citizens who evade military registration and military service;
- involvement of administrative service centers, employment centers, and recruiting centers in military recruitment activities.”
This announcement comes as at least 20,000 Ukrainian men eligible for military service have fled the country and the war rages on to its second year with Russia making incremental gains in Donetsk Oblast after the failed 2023 Fall Offensive in the South.