A controversial conscription law has come into force in Ukraine as the country faces new Russian attacks.
The legislation will make it easier to identify every conscript in the country and also provides incentives to soldiers such as cash or money toward buying a house or car.
Last month, Ukraine lowered the age for men who can be drafted from 27 to 25 in a reflection of the growing strain more than two years of war with Russia has had on its forces who are trying to hold the front lines in fighting that has sapped the country's ranks and stores of weapons and ammunition.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also signed two other laws Friday, allowing prisoners to join the army and increasing fines for draft dodgers fivefold.
Some business owners have said they expect to have to shut up shop if more staff are conscripted, while serving troops have expressed disquiet about a lack of a plan to demobilise soldiers who have been serving in some cases for years.
Early drafts of the law envisaged the demobilization of troops after 36 months, and the rotation of those serving on the front line for more than half a year. These clauses were dropped following a last-minute appeal by Ukraine's military leadership, concerned the armed forces would be left without their best-trained and most experienced troops. It comes as Russian troops are pushing ahead with a ground offensive that opened a new front in the northeast and put further pressure on Kyiv's overstretched military. After weeks of probing, Moscow launched the new push knowing that Ukraine suffered personnel shortages, and that its forces have been spread thin in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Moscow's forces have pummeled Kharkiv with strikes in recent weeks, hitting civilian and energy infrastructure and prompting angry accusations from Zelensky that the Russian leadership sought to reduce the city to rubble.
The U.S. last week announced a new $400 million package of military aid and President Joe Biden has promised he would rush badly needed weaponry to the country to help it stave off Russian advances.
Still, only small batches of U.S. military aid have started to trickle into the front line, according to Ukrainian military commanders, who said it will take at least two months before supplies meet Kyiv's needs to hold the line.Many Ukrainians have fled the country to avoid the draft since Russia's all-out invasion in February 2022.The Supreme Court last month said that 930 people were convicted of avoiding mobilization in 2023, a fivefold increase from the previous year.Around 768,000 Ukrainian men aged 18-64 had been granted temporary protection in European Union countries as of last November, according to data from the bloc's statistical agency, Eurostat.Kyiv has barred men under 60 from leaving the country since the start of the war, but some are exempt, including those who are disabled or have three or more dependent children.
