Ukraine mandates conscription drive: 150,000 new soldiers needed

In mid-May, new mobilization regulations came into effect in Ukraine. Every man outside the country must register at consular offices within 60 days. The primary purpose of the registration is to check mobilization resources.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine also specified which conscripts currently abroad should return and report to the territorial recruitment center to update their registration data for the military.

Even students and schoolchildren who will soon reach adulthood will not avoid returning. Dmytro Lazutkin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, announced this: "Young men who have turned 17 must register with the draft commission. This is a legal requirement. It also applies to those who are abroad. If these individuals want to retain Ukrainian citizenship and tie their future to our country, then it is worth doing so."

The spokesperson emphasized that registration cannot be done through the Rezerv+ app, which was developed to facilitate mobilization procedures. He says over 164,000 men, including 18,000 living abroad, have updated their data. Over 153,000 of them are reservists, the vast majority of whom still have deferment from service.

About 190,000 women also registered, an opportunity available for the first time. The war has significantly accelerated the feminization of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since 2014, the number of women in the army has tripled. Currently, nearly 1,000 women are serving even in the airborne assault troops. There are over 16,000 women in the ground forces, about 40% of whom participated in direct combat on the front lines.

The new law replaced universal conscription with a five-month training period for all men capable of military service. This especially applies to men aged 18-25. Until they turn 25, they will not be mobilized to front-line units but will undergo only periodic training.

Therefore, the government wants to understand the army's potential for calling up citizens who emigrated or fled potential mobilization.

"We understand that a small percentage of Ukrainians currently abroad can be involved in mobilization processes and that not all of them plan to return to Ukraine," admitted Dmytro Lazutkin. "But let me remind you that those Ukrainians who are abroad in one way or another remain our citizens and are subject to the relevant regulations."

This is not so much a threat as a statement that if someone does not show up for registration, they may later have problems obtaining documents or be deprived of consular services, which can significantly impede their stay abroad. Finding work upon returning to Ukraine or continuing their education may also be difficult.

Ukraine needs about 150,000 new soldiers "right now." This number would allow soldiers who have been fighting since the beginning of the war or have been on the front line for over three months to rest. The army stresses that a high level of exhaustion negatively affects the combat value of units and significantly lowers the fighters' morale.

The average age in front-line units is over 40 years. Soldiers at this age get sick more often, recover worse, and take much longer to heal wounds. This, in turn, affects the defensive capabilities of Ukrainians, who, despite fierce resistance, are slowly retreating. The act regulating service and mobilization rules is at least a year late. The sluggish pace of its processing certainly did not help.

At this point, the rotation of units fighting on the front line is crucial. Calling up additional soldiers will allow more frequent rotation of brigades and the discharge of veterans to civilian life who were called up in the first wave of mobilization, namely in the spring of 2022. This will only be possible in a few months.