Zelenskyy on mobilization: Hundreds of thousands joined army voluntarily

Responding to a provocative question about "forced mobilization" in Ukraine, Zelenskyy noted that hundreds of Ukrainians have voluntarily joined the armed forces.

"Ukraine has 800,000 right now or 600,000 people who volunteered to go to the army. That was the law on mobilization, but people were volunteering to go and defend Ukraine," he emphasized.

At the same time, the president acknowledged that there have been isolated incidents during the mobilization process. However, he stressed that these "do not represent" Ukraine.

"The law enforcement personnel should be making sure that everything would be transparent there, there would be no coercion," Zelenskyy added.

The head of state clarified that every disputed case of mobilization is reviewed by law enforcement.

Mobilization in Ukraine

On April 18, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed laws extending martial law and mobilization. According to the adopted bills, martial law and general mobilization in Ukraine have been extended for 90 days, starting from May 9, 2025, until August 6.

Yesterday, Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk stated that the government would not consider lowering the mobilization age. He emphasized that Parliament would not "play games" with the age, as it is important to think not only about defense but also about Ukraine's future.

Stefanchuk highlighted that Parliament had already taken steps by lowering the mobilization age from 27 to 25 and providing the opportunity to voluntarily sign contracts with the Armed Forces to participate in the country’s defense.

At the same time, it was recently revealed that some students in Ukraine will be deprived of their mobilization deferral. The government has proposed a bill that would strip the right to defer mobilization from students of vocational (vocational-technical) institutions and professional pre-higher education programs who began their studies after the age of 25.

Additionally, in March, the Verkhovna Rada passed a bill introducing penalties for violations of mobilization procedures by employees of Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRCs) and Military Medical Commissions (MMCs). The law applies to heads of TRCs, chairs and members of MMCs, as well as military medics.

According to the document, criminal liability is proposed for violations in conducting medical examinations to determine fitness for service, as well as for breaches in the conscription process of citizens for military service.