Ukraine tightens conscription laws to combat soldier shortages

The Ukrainian government has once again announced measures aimed at holding men who avoid conscription accountable. In a communiqué, the government in Kyiv stated that under the latest law, such individuals would be pursued by the police. These changes are intended to tighten conscription in Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for over two and a half years. During this time, both sides have conducted multiple conscriptions, which for Ukrainians have become increasingly problematic. As early as 24 February 2022, a significant part of society was mobilised, while in Russia, it was a small percentage of full capacity.

The results did not take long to show. After just a few months, the Ukrainian government reported declining combat capabilities due to the decreasing number of soldiers ready to fight. As a result, efforts to strengthen conscription laws for those who avoided it for the first time began in 2022.

There were quite a few of them, so one of the first loopholes was quickly addressed. Despite this, many of those subject to conscription remained outside Ukraine or at an address other than the one indicated in the documentation. Consequently, the government in Kyiv quickly began work in this area as well.

Even after two and a half years of war, Ukraine is still facing the problem of people avoiding mobilisation. As a result, a law has now been announced that will nearly eliminate this possibility. The police will pursue those who fail to comply with this obligation.

Many people were registered at one address but lived at another. Thus, we could not deliver summonses to such conscripts because we did not know their locations. The changes have given us the ability to legally gather relevant data about the conscripts. Now we know where a person lives, how to contact them, and where they work, noted Lt. Col. Andrii Moroz, head of the mobilisation and defence sector, as quoted by Censor.NET.

This means that services will obtain information about their current whereabouts regardless of the individuals themselves.