‘Quiet life is over’ for young men of Ukraine ahead of tougher conscription law
The “quiet life” is over, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has warned young men, as it introduces a tougher conscription law next week.
Dmitry Lazutkin, the department’s spokesman, said that after the new mobilisation law is introduced on May 18 nearly all Ukrainian men will be drafted into the army.
“This situation, when some people are fighting at the front lines while others are living their quiet lives, is obviously coming to an end,” he told Espresso TV, a Ukrainian television station.
The country has rushed through legal reforms to give military recruiters more power to find and force men into the army while closing loopholes used to dodge service.
Kyiv has faced a major troop and ammunition shortage over the past six months, which experts say has allowed Russia to push Ukrainian forces back across the front line.
The new laws will lower the mobilisation age of men to 25 from 27 and include giving draft officers more powers to punish refuseniks, including blocking bank accounts.
“With such an enemy as Russia, the whole country needs to mobilise,” said Mr Lazutkin.
The new laws also take a leaf out of the Kremlin’s playbook by allowing convicts to serve in the Ukrainian army for the first time.
In an interview with the BBC this week, Denis Maliuksa, Ukraine’s justice minister, said that up to 20,000 convicts could be mobilised.
“Of course, there is a parallel,” he said when asked about a comparison to Russia’s deployment of convicts in its army. “You should not deceive yourself but it is still a matter of a difference in approaches.”
Russia has mobilised tens of thousands of convicts into its army, promising them a pardon if they survive a six-month tour on the front line
The policy has been criticised in Russia because many of the murderers and rapists mobilised into the army have returned to re-offend and terrorise communities.
Mr Maliuksa said that only convicts who volunteer for war would be allowed to fight in the Ukrainian army and those imprisoned for violent crimes would not be eligible.
