Under fire from Russia and with few soldiers, Ukraine passes controversial law that tightens recruitment

Ukrainian parliamentarians approved the bill this Thursday strengthens military mobilization and which does not set a deadline for the discharge of soldiers with long service, a controversial reform that outraged the troops and their families.

“The law on mobilization has been adopted in its entirety,” MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak reported in a Telegram article, noting that 283 deputies out of 450 deputies voted in favor.

Ukraine faces a shortage of volunteer soldiers and the country has been working on this text for months, which is very controversial at a time when more than two years have passed since the start of the Russian invasion which began in February 2022.

The text toughens penalties for those who escape conscription and sparked controversy when parliamentarians announced at the last minute the elimination of a provision that called for the demobilization of troops who have completed 36 months of service, a setback for soldiers who have been fighting on the front for more than two years.

The Ukrainian army is weighed down by the failure of the counteroffensive launched in mid-2023 and delays in the delivery of aid promised by Western powers, at a time when it is trying to contain the onslaught of Russian forces in several positions on the front.

To do it it needs ammunition and troopsand has difficulty finding volunteers, so he first expanded the conditions for mobilization, lowering the age of conscripts from 27 to 25.

This reform also facilitates enlistment with the creation of a digital register.

For its entry into force, the head of Parliament will have to send the text to the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyj, for promulgation.

Rain of Russian drones and missiles

The controversial law on military service was passed after a new one Massive night-time attack on energy infrastructure. “Overnight, Russia launched more than 40 missiles and 40 drones against Ukraine,” President Zelensky said on the X social network.

“Some Shahed missiles and drones were successfully shot down. Unfortunately, only a part of them,” Zelensky said, adding that the Russians “again attacked essential infrastructure.”

The Ukrainian president, visiting Lithuania on Thursday, said infrastructure was attacked in Kiev, Zaporizhzhia and Odessa in the south, in Lviv (west) and near the border with Poland.

The Russian attacks went away two dead and four injured in the southern city of Mykolaiv, regional governor Vitaly Kim posted on the Telegram network.

Ukraine managed to destroy 37 of 40 drones launched by Russian forces, the army said in its daily report.

“The enemy has attacked our energy infrastructure again,” Ukrainian Energy Minister Guerman Galushchenko said on Telegram.

The attacks targeted “production facilities and transmission systems” in the regions of Kiev, Kharkiv (north-east), Zaporizhzhia and Lviv, the minister said.

Two thermoelectric power plants of the Ukrainian energy operator DTEK were also attacked, the company said on Telegram, without specifying the location.

The Interior Minister, Igor Klimenko, underlined in turn that hundreds of operators are at work throughout the country after “massive bombings”, which lasted “several hours”.

From Lithuania, where he arrived on Thursday, Zelensky again called on his partners to help strengthen Ukraine’s anti-aircraft defense and “consolidate international support (for Kiev) to defeat Russian terrorism.”

Source: AFP