No need to mobilize 500,000 Ukrainians at present, PM states
Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal (Photo: Vitalii Nosach-RBC-Ukraine)
There is currently no need to mobilize 500,000 Ukrainians into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, states Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
According to the Prime Minister, the assessment has shown that such a scale of mobilization is not necessary, considering the rotations taking place on the front lines and the arrival of weapons.
"We will continue the fight if we will have support from our partners for artillery shells, for long and middle range missiles," Shmyhal says in an interview with Bloomberg.
Mobilization bill
At the end of January, the government introduced an updated bill on mobilization to the Ukrainian Parliament, proposing to change the procedure for its conduct. The first version of the document was proposed to the parliament at the end of December, but it was withdrawn after a flurry of criticism.
The new bill has already passed the first reading. Currently, the Parliament Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence is considering over 4,000 amendments to the bill. According to MP Fedir Venislavskyi, the largest number of amendments concern graduate students and observers for people with disabilities.
It is expected that the mobilization bill will be considered in the second reading at the end of March, but the parliament's spokesperson Ruslan Stefanchuk stated that the timing of consideration depended on the duration of the committee's review of the amendments.
Recently, the Ministry of Defense announced that the number of mobilized personnel was adjusted depending on the need and the situation on the front lines. However, 400-500 thousand remained a general estimate.
