The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has prepared proposals for mobilization reform, in particular to avoid «busification». The proposals have been prepared for discussion in the government.
At a press conference in Kyiv, the Minister of Defense answered a wide range of questions about mobilization and possible changes in the ministry’s approach to this issue. Among other things, he spoke about the digitalization of the process, the role of the military recruiting centers amid proposals to liquidate them, and recruiting centers. Rustem Umerov also spoke about the work on recruiting Ukrainians abroad.
When asked about the idea of disbanding the TCCs and moving mobilization online, the minister said that discussions on their reform are ongoing. The government is discussing different concepts, but adheres to the rule of not harming the «system that is».
«Our goal, if possible, is to turn «Reserve+» into a nationwide recruiting center to replace offline» locations.
Deputy Minister Kateryna Chernogorenko called online recruitment a humane alternative to forced mobilization. She said that next year the Ministry of Defense plans to launch the installation of military registration onlinewithout the need to visit the TCC and provide paper documents.
«The main idea is that a person can register with the state, become liable for military service, and show that he or she is actually fulfilling the duty required by law through such an online tool using his or her smartphone from any convenient place. And all this is in the context of transforming «Reserve+» into a fully-fledged alternative to the Conscription Commission».
The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Anatoliy Bargylevych, also spoke out on the reform of the TCC:
«Life will tell. Changes will be made, and the question will arise by itself. Either the TCC is re-formed into another body, or it remains as it is, or changes are made, or it is in digital form».
In response to a question about the so-called «busification», i.e. the forced mobilization of men on the streets, Rustem Umerov noted that the government plans to abandon this practice:
«Now the priority of protecting our country is very important for us, so we plan to move away from these painful issues for the population. We have proposals that we will discuss in the Cabinet of Ministers to propose such a reform and move away from these very phantom pains».
As a reminder, MP Yulia Yatsyk recently said that the Verkhovna Rada Commission on the Protection of Servicemen’s Rights proposed to disband territorial recruitment centers in favor of recruitment centers. According to her, it will be possible to create «more than 10 full-fledged brigades from the employees of the TCCs». The Ministry of Defense responded that in fact, 36 thousand people work in the TCCs, with 48 thousand staff positions available. Of the employees, almost 7,000 are civilians, 18,500 are of limited fitness, and 3,000 are women.
Source: Radio Liberty
Spelling error report
The following text will be sent to our editors: