“Everyone” may end up getting a call, including those who left the country, the defense minister says
Ukraine has been working on a single database to list all the potential recruits, with a system to deliver digital conscription notices already in the works, the country’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has revealed.
The minister made the remarks in an exclusive interview with the broadcaster Suspilne which was published on Sunday. The country’s military has analyzed “about nine” databases maintained by various ministries in order to create a single unified list of all the potential conscripts Kiev has at its disposal, Umerov revealed.
“People don’t quite understand who is eligible, who is a serviceman already, who is a veteran. That’s why we are talking about the database of conscripts; about how to account for them,” the minister claimed.
Asked whether the creation of the database might potentially result in the delivery of conscription notices via smartphones, Umerov responded affirmatively, revealing the “technical solutions” to make it happen had been in the works already.
The improved conscription mechanism will even affect Ukrainians who left the country amid the conflict with Russia, Umerov noted, claiming that the revisions were all about equality and justice. The ministry is now evaluating “categories” of people it actually needs, including all Ukrainian men aged between 25 and 60.
If we make a decision on categories, everyone will get a notice.
Currently, the ministry is seeking to summon all the military-aged Ukrainians to recruitment offices, merely in order to check their papers and then offering them various options for service. “The focus is not on how to punish a person, but on how to provide opportunities so that all security concerns for a serviceman are resolved. This is our goal,” Umerov asserted.
The minister was also asked about a proposal, allegedly floated by the military, to mobilize an additional 450,000-500,000 men, first revealed by President Vladimir Zelensky during his recent Q&A session. Zelensky claimed he shot down the proposal, demanding better justification of the move from the military. Umerov did not elaborate whether the demand had actually been made, stating only that legislation on the matter was indeed the works, with details expected to be made public in the “coming days.”
Umerov’s remarks come amid fears that Kiev will further intensify its forced conscription drive in an apparent attempt to compensate for heavy losses sustained during its much-hyped yet ultimately disastrous counteroffensive against the Russians. The conscription process has been growing increasingly violent in Ukraine, with numerous videos circulating online showing armed recruitment officers assaulting citizens in the streets, chasing potential recruits and even brawling with them.
On Saturday, Nazariy Kishak, a Ukrainian military officer and former municipal council adviser, claimed that the country was about to erect roadblocks around cities and between regions in order to catch draft dodgers. “The guys on the front line need to be replaced. The ‘golden youth’, kids of pretentious parents, bloggers, all who get caught – will go into the infantry,” Kishak claimed.
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