Ukraine’s parliament scraps demobilization plans in bid to boost military

Ukraine’s parliament has scrapped plans to give soldiers who have spent prolonged periods fighting on the frontlines the chance to return home, after passing a heavily-amended law seeking to boost the number of soldiers in its military.

Ukraine’s parliament has scrapped plans to give soldiers who have spent prolonged periods fighting on the frontlines the chance to return home on rotation, after passing a draft law seeking to boost the number of soldiers in its military. Ukrainian lawmakers have for months debated whether to allow the longest-serving of Ukraine’s soldiers the chance to return home, or whether Russia’s unrelenting aggression means they cannot afford to allow exhausted soldiers to rest – an invidious dilemma that has sparked public outcry. Soldiers serving for more than 36 months were originally slated to be allowed to demobilize and return home, but the provision was removed from a draft law following an intervention by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, according to Ukrainian lawmakers. The draft law passed Thursday with 283 votes in favor, including a raft of measures aimed at providing a desperately needed boost for Ukraine’s military. The law received 4,269 amendments over months of debate – a measure of how politically difficult crafting the legislation has been. The law also said the government must submit new legislation to improve the “rotation of military personnel under martial law,” meaning the issue of demobilization is likely to remain active. As well as manpower, Ukraine is grappling with ammunition shortages. The commander of US European Command, Chris Cavoli, warned Wednesday that the Russians are currently firing five times as many artillery shells as the Ukrainians – a number he said will rise to 10 to one “in a matter of weeks.”