Ukraine's Parliament Passes Controversial Law To Boost Conscripts And Fill Army Ranks

The law was spurred by a request from Ukraine’s military, which wanted to mobilize up to 500,000 more troops.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s parliament passed a law Thursday that will govern how the country recruits new conscripts, following months of delay and after thousands of amendments were submitted to water down the initial draft.

Lawmakers dragged their feet for months over the law, which is expected to be unpopular. The law was spurred by a request from Ukraine’s military, which wanted to mobilize up to 500,000 more troops, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in December.

Exhausted soldiers, on the front lines since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, had no means to rotate out for rest, while many thousands of Ukrainian men evade the draft.

The law was passed to the backdrop of an escalating Russian campaign that has devastated Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks. Authorities said Russian overnight missile and drone attacks again struck infrastructure and power facilities across several regions and completely destroyed the Trypilska thermal power plant, the largest power generating facility in Kyiv region.

The law brings into effect a host of changes to the current system by expanding the powers of Ukrainian authorities to issue draft notices using an electronic system.