Ukraine parliament passes controversial law to raise needed conscripts as war rages on

Ukraine’s government has approved a new law on Thursday that will decide how they bring in new soldiers. This comes at a time when they need more soldiers to help protect the country from Russia’s attacks.

The law was passed because Russia has been attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Officials said that the Trypilska thermal power plant, the biggest power plant in the capital area, was completely destroyed by missile and drone attacks overnight.

Two years after Russia attacked and took over almost a quarter of the country, Kyiv is facing very high stakes. After winning many battles in the first year, the Ukrainian military is now in a tough position. They are outnumbered and outgunned, but they are staying and defending their position.


The country really needs more soldiers and they also need more weapons and bullets. There are also worries about whether they will get enough help from Western countries.

The mobilization law was planned after Ukraine‘s summer attack didn’t work and they saw that the country would be in a long battle.

In December, President Zelenskyy said Ukraine is planning to increase its military by up to 500,000 more troops. Army leader Oleksandr Syrskyi changed the number because soldiers can be moved from the back. But the authorities have not mentioned the exact number that is required.

The changed law will help to find all men who are old enough for the military draft. Some people try to avoid being drafted, even in war.

According to the law, men between 18 and 60 years old must have documents proving they joined the military and show them when necessary. Additionally, any man who applies for a government job at an embassy in another country will be signed up for the military.

However, we don’t know how the measure will make sure that all men who are old enough to be drafted are signed up, according to Oksana Zabolotna, who analyzes things for the group Centre for United Actions. She said it does not achieve the main goal.

The law gives soldiers rewards like extra money or help to buy a house or car, but Ukraine doesn’t have the money for that, according to Zabolotna.

It’s not known how many new soldiers the law might create, and it’s also not clear if Ukraine can give weapons to the new soldiers without help from the West because they don’t have enough ammunition.

Overall, one million people from Ukraine are in the military, with about 300,000 of them serving on the front lines.

Politicians took a long time to decide on the mobilization law and people probably won’t like it. About a week ago, Ukraine made it so that men as young as 25 can now be drafted into the military.

The law will start in a month after Zelenskyy signs it, but we don’t know when he will sign it. It took him a long time to approve the law that makes people join the army at a younger age.

Earlier this month, Volodymyr Fesenko, an expert at the Center for Applied Political Studies Penta, said the law is very important for Ukraine to continue fighting against Russia, even though it may be difficult for Ukrainian people.

“He said that many people don’t want their family and friends to go to war, but they still want Ukraine to win. ”

Thursday’s vote happened after the parliamentary defence committee took out an important part of the bill. This part would have made troops who served 36 months in combat leave, which was a promise made by the Ukrainian leaders. Legislator Oleksii Honcharenko said in a message on Telegram that he was surprised by the decision to take out the rule.

The committee told the Defence Ministry to make a new law about sending soldiers home. They want it done in a few months, according to ministry spokesperson Dmytro Lazutkin.

Tired soldiers, who have been on the front lines since Russia invaded in February 2022, cannot take turns to rest. However, it will be hard to create a system for taking breaks due to the large and intense war with Russia.

A soldier who got hurt on the battle field told The Associated Press that his friends really need a break.

“I want the boys to be let go, at least after 3 years. ” The soldier, named Kostyantyn, said he wants the boys to rest because he has no more thoughts.

Ukraine doesn’t have enough well-trained soldiers, and if they send the ones they have home from the front lines, it will make their army weaker.

At the same time, DTEK, a private energy company, said there was a strong attack on power plants and other infrastructure with missiles and drones in several areas during the night.

The Trypilska plant, which provided electricity to Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Zhytomyr regions, was completely shut down and could not supply power.

At least 10 energy facilities in Kharkiv, which is Ukraine’s second-largest city, have been damaged. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that over 200,000 people in the area have no electricity, and Russia is trying to ruin Kharkiv’s infrastructure and make the city have no lights.

Electricity plants were damaged in the Zaporizhzhia and Lviv areas too.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the attacks were to punish Ukraine for attacking Russia’s energy facilities. Ukraine has been using drones to attack oil refineries in Russia.

During a meeting with the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, in Moscow, Putin said that Russia didn’t attack Ukrainian energy plants during the winter for humanitarian reasons, but had to defend itself after Ukraine attacked their energy facilities.

Four people died and five were hurt in an attack in the city of Mykolaiv on Thursday, according to Vitalii Kim, who is the governor of the region. In Odesa region, four people died and 14 were hurt in missile attacks by Russia on Wednesday evening, according to the governor.