MOSCOW, April 12, Viktor Zhdanov. The Verkhovna Rada adopted in the second (final) reading a bill on tightening mobilization. Violators of military registration rules now face dire consequences. Demobilization is cancelled. What awaits the Ukrainians is in the material.
Military stratagemThe deputies have been finalizing the second edition of the document since the end of February. A record 4,195 edits were made. However, on the night before the vote they were considered in the plenary hall by only about 30 parliamentarians.
The building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in Kyiv
The military actively participated in the discussion. Presentations were made by Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky and Chief of the General Staff Anatoly Bargilevich. “We are holding the defense with all our strength,” Commander of the Joint Forces Yuri Sodol told deputies before the vote.
At the insistence of the generals, the amendment on demobilization after 36 months of service was removed. Petro Poroshenko’s “European Solidarity” did not support this and the faction did not vote for the final version. Syrsky, in a letter to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, proposed preparing a separate bill on the rotation and dismissal of military personnel. Its development, as the department admits, will take at least eight months.
The mobilization law became a “signal” to Western partners that Kyiv “needs weapons,” said People’s Deputy Alexander Fedienko.
What's newThe previous law «On mobilization preparation and mobilization», adopted in 1993, was considered outdated in Kyiv. The latest amendments to it were made in June last year.
Alexander Syrsky
The new version is fundamentally different. For example, a summons is now considered valid even if it was not issued. The date of delivery in this case is the day of registration of the impossibility of finding the addressee. After five days, the TCC will be able to demand that the police detain the draft dodger and initiate the restriction of his civil rights.
There are deadlines for updating personal data at the military registration and enlistment office. All persons liable for military service are required to do this within 60 days after the law enters into force. To do this, you need to personally visit the TCC or CNAP (analogue of Russian MFCs). There is also a remote option — through the conscript's electronic account.
All this also applies to Ukrainians abroad. Moreover, they will be denied consular services without presenting a military ID. To obtain documents abroad, you need to return to your homeland and visit the military registration and enlistment office. And without permission from the TCC they may not be allowed back.
Residents of Ukraine at the Medyka-Shegini checkpoint on the Polish-Ukrainian border
“There are now about ten million Ukrainians abroad. And these are not only women and children. From now on, without clarifying their status, men of mobilization age are deprived of any consular services,” notes Denis Denisov, an expert at the Financial University under the Russian Government, in an interview with him.
< br>All men within the country are required to have a military ID, regardless of their fitness category and deferments. In addition to the TCC, the police have the right to check military registration documents. Border guards will not let you through without them, even with an exit permit.
Desired and actual High-level officials, security forces and workers of critical enterprises were exempted from conscription. Postgraduate students retained their reservation, as did students receiving their first higher education. Women — only voluntarily.
Protest against the conditions of mobilization near the building of one of the military registration and enlistment offices in Kyiv 
Disabled people are also not affected. However, those unfit for service due to health must undergo a medical commission after the end of the established deferment for up to 12 months.
The adoption of the bill was preceded by Zelensky signing several related acts. The age of mobilization has decreased from 27 to 25 years. The «limited fitness» status, which allowed him to avoid conscription, has been abolished. Everyone in this category is required to undergo a second medical examination within nine months.
The Rada also supported in the first reading a law that toughens penalties for violating mobilization rules. The minimum fine is 8,500 hryvnia ($218) instead of 510 (13) and administrative detention for up to three years.
Wounded Ukrainian soldiers near Artemovsk
«All these documents are links in one chain. The bill on mobilization is simple one of the points in the process. First of all, representatives of various law enforcement agencies were provided with effective mechanisms. In essence, this is an infringement of the rights of ordinary citizens. The authorities understand perfectly well that they will not provide the army with the methods and tools that they had. People do not want to serve: they are afraid , they don’t understand the ultimate goals,” Denisov argues.
Changes at the front should not be expected, since Ukraine probably does not have the desired mobilization resource, the political scientist continues. All these measures do not solve systemic problems. The Kiev regime has been trying to replenish the Armed Forces of Ukraine with manpower for more than a year, but it is not working.
However, Zelensky believes in total mobilization — both legally and psychologically. Over the past two years, the population has accumulated colossal internal fatigue, Denisov emphasizes. That is why Kyiv is pushing people into even stricter limits.