Ukraine launches sweeping mobilization overhaul to fix years of draft failures
The Defense Ministry will propose a systemic solution to address problems with mobilization in Ukraine that have accumulated over the years, Fedorov said. (Photo: Mykhailo Fedorov/Facebook)
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is preparing a comprehensive
overhaul of the country’s mobilization system, Defense Minister Mykhailo
Fedorov said on Feb. 23.
“We are currently working on a comprehensive reform of
mobilization. We will propose a systemic solution to address problems that have
accumulated over the years while at the same time preserving the country’s
defense capability,” he wrote on social media on Feb. 23.
Fedorov said 90% of mobilization deferments were extended
automatically through the Reserve+ application — without applications,
certificates or visits to territorial recruitment and social support centers,
Ukraine’s military draft offices.
Until recently, he said, the process took weeks and consumed
substantial resources. Now the system independently verifies data through state
registries and extends deferments automatically.
The shift, he added, allows the ministry to move away from
manually processing tens of thousands of applications and supporting documents
and refocus on core defense tasks.
On Jan. 14, Fedorov said approximately 2 million Ukrainians
liable for military service are currently wanted, while about 200,000 service
members are AWOL.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he and Fedorov had
identified the Defense Ministry’s first priorities, including resolving
problems with military draft offices.
“Ukraine’s Defense Ministry will propose systemic solutions
to the problems that have accumulated with draft offices. Decisions have
already been made to ensure a fairer distribution of personnel among combat
brigades. But much larger-scale changes are needed in the mobilization process
that will guarantee more opportunities both for Ukraine’s Defense and Security
Forces and for economic processes in our state,” the president said.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine ultimately wants to move the Defense
Forces entirely to a contract-based system but lacks the funding to do so.
European partners could help finance that transition, he said.
On Feb. 6, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces
Oleksandr Syrskyi said territorial recruitment and social support centers
account for about 90% of mobilization into the Defense Forces, with recruiting
centers contributing roughly 10%.
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