Kiev promises conscripts discharge from armed forces
Despite the ongoing Russian war of aggression, the Ukrainian leadership wants to release soldiers from the armed forces at the end of their compulsory military service. Serious issues of mobilization, demobilization and rotation were addressed at the General Staff meeting, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video message.
It was about conscripts who had been drafted before the start of the war. According to the Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, Olexiy Danilov, Zelenskyi has asked the military leadership to demobilize these soldiers.
While Danilov stated that the dismissals should begin in the near future, Zelensky himself was much more secretive. A concrete plan for mobilization is to be presented next week. Zelensky announced this at a joint press conference with Latvia's Edgars Rinkēvičs.
Around 820,000 Ukrainians are currently serving in the armed forces. In order to be able to send at least some of the conscripts home for a certain period of time, other soldiers must be recruited so that the front does not collapse.
The promises are seen as a concession to the soldiers who have been fighting on the front line since the start of the Russian war of aggression 21 months ago. In recent weeks, there have been several demonstrations by members of these conscripts calling for more rotation to give the fighters the opportunity to recover for a longer period of time. However, according to the current martial law, the soldiers cannot be demobilized so easily. This would require a new law to be passed.
Despite the ongoing conflicts and military actions due to Russia's war of aggression, President Volodymyr Selensky has urged the military leadership to discharge conscripts who were drafted before the conflict, as discussed at the General Staff meeting. Secretary Olexiy Danilov revealed that Zelenskyi has requested the early demobilization of these soldiers, with dismissals anticipated soon.
Source: www.dpa.com
