Ukraine’s parliament passes controversial law to increase conscripts and bolster army ranks

Ukraine’s parliament on Thursday passed a law that will regulate how the country recruits new military recruits, after months of delays and thousands of amendments submitted to water down the original draft.

Lawmakers have stalled for months on the law, which is expected to be unpopular. The law was enacted at the request of the military command under former army chief Valerii Zaluzhny, who said Ukraine needed up to 500,000 new recruits to upgrade its ranks.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, exhausted soldiers on the front lines have been unable to take turns to rest, while thousands of Ukrainian men are still avoiding military service.

The law expands the authority of Ukrainian authorities to issue draft notifications using electronic systems, introducing a series of changes to the current system.

Current Army Chief of Staff Alexander Silsky and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revised the figure after an audit, saying the number needed was not that high because soldiers could be rotated from the rear.

Zaluzhny was reportedly removed from office over mobilization issues.