“Everyone” may end up getting a call, including those who left the country, the defense minister says
FILE PHOTO. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. © Getty Images / NurPhoto
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 broadcaster Suspilne, published on Sunday. The country’s military has analyzed “about nine” databases maintained by various ministers 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 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 affect even those Ukrainians who had 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 the Ukrainian men aged between 25 and 60.
Should we take 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 for checking their papers and then offering them various “variants” of 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 the 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 been actually made, stating only that a legislation on the matter was in indeed the works with details expected to get 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 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 the country was about to erect roadblocks around cities and between regions with the aim to catch draft dodgers. “The guys on the front line need to be replaced. Golden youth, kids of pretentious parents, bloggers, all who get caught – will go into the infantry,” Kishak claimed.
