Draft bill #11460 of August 2, 2024 

Cosponsors: a group of MPs from the European Solidarity faction with Petro Poroshenko as the first signatory 

Status: sent for review to the Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence 

Who is affected: residents of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military units, law enforcement agencies, and service members  

Summary: 

  • service members called up by mobilization will be allowed to be released to reserve under a presidential decree, provided they have continuously served for 36 months during martial law, with at least 18 months performing combat tasks 
  • it will not be allowed to call up individuals released under a presidential decree for 12 months after release, but they will have the option to return to service voluntarily 
  • service members who agree to serve beyond 36 months will receive double pay 
  • it will be prohibited to transfer service members who volunteered for service and picked their unit (military unit, formation, and branch of the armed forces) outside of their selected units without their consent 
  • individuals with a deferral will be allowed to leave the country without restrictions, including: 
    • students of vocational, pre-higher, and higher education getting full-time or dual education 
    • scientific and pedagogical workers with a degree, as well as educators with at least 0.75% of a full-time workload 
    • men and women whose close relatives died during the Anit-Terrorist Operation/Joint Forces Operation or martial law 
    • family members of the Heavenly Hundred 
    • persons subject to military service but who are still under 25 years old 
    • people released from service after their return from captivity 
    • MPs 
    • local councilors 
  • a 100% military reserve quota will be kept for employees of NABU, fire and rescue units of the State Emergency Service, and employees and service members of the State Border Guard Service involved in repelling armed aggression by the Russian Federation 
  • a military reserve quota will be reduced from 100% to 50% for persons subject to military service employed by the National Police, State Bureau of Investigation, prosecution bodies, Bureau of Economic Security, State Emergency Service (except for firefighters), State Criminal-Executive Service, Court Security Service, judiciary institutions, and pre-trial investigation agencies, as well as for employees holding positions in patronage services of state bodies that have jurisdiction all over Ukraine 
  • the right to reserve employees will no longer be granted to government and other state bodies. 

What is wrong: 

  • if the bill is adopted, it will weaken the defense capability of the state by releasing the most experienced service members 
  • the bill will undermine the mobilization potential of the state by allowing a wide range of persons subject to military service to leave the country 
  • double payments to service members serving beyond 36 months will significantly increase the burden on the government budget 
  • government bodies will have trouble functioning due to reduced military reservation quotas. 

Alternative solution: to withdraw the draft bill. 

Background information: the release of service members to reserve was initially proposed in the mobilization draft bill adopted in the first reading on February 7, 2024. However, these provisions were removed after being revised by the dedicated committee before the final vote on the law. 

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, Dmytro Lazutkin, stated in April that the Cabinet plans to spend up to 8 months developing a separate draft bill on rotation and demobilization. 

Additional information: 

  • article by Oksana Zabolotna: Mobilization anew: how will the adopted bill work? 
  • column by Oksana Zabolotna: Between bad and worse. Why did we get such a mobilization law? 
  • interview with Oksana Zabolotna: The mobilization law will not force everyone to update their data at the recruitment centers