Half a million more soldiers: Ukraine hopes tougher law will fill army ranks | DW News

Ukraine urgently needs new soldiers and is increasing pressure on men to sign up the government recently passed a new mobilization law uh from this which from this weekend means that Ukrainian men will have two months to register for potential conscription if they don’t sign up they’ll be punished DW’s kolina chimoy reports sign up or face the consequences the cues at this conscription Center are or L but the men here say the process itself is not for some it’s their second or third attempt and they’ve come prepared for a long wait if I have to register I’ll do it and if I get called up into Army service I’ll go but look at the problems we’ve been trying to register here if there’s no here what must it be like in the army Ukraine’s new mobilization rules mean that all 18 to 60 year olds must register and carry paper work with them those who don’t will be punished many here are wary of the new policy so they want to remain anonymous men who don’t register will lose all their rights we won’t be able to do anything officially get a job rent a house men without the write papers will have no rights in Ukraine this is where Ukrainian men have to register to be on the mobilization list to potentially be called into war according to officials of the Armed Forces Ukraine’s military needs at least 500,000 more soldiers the government says this registration Drive will help speed up the recruitment process the new law also lowers the conscription age from 27 to 25 that’s encouraged some young men to volunteer early doing so means they can choose a unit instead of being assigned one by the state my main motivation is to help the people who are defending our country to replace the guys who need a rest after more than two hard years I want to destroy the enemy and defend our [Music] country but it’s not always so simple this lawyer gets around 30 calls a day from man trying to get a draft deferment these are calls from those who are entitled to a deferment and do not know how to submit the documents correctly the question is not how to evade military service he questions the legality of the restrictions on men’s rights that the new law imposes on men who fail to register I believe that the right to education cannot be restricted even during war the new rules state that people could in some cases be denied Medical Services if they don’t register at a conscription office office I think that’s not right the new law does not provide for demobilization families had been hoping for a three-year time limit for those serving at the front many are fatigued or injured two years into war the assumption that Ukraine would win within a couple of months has disappeared says veteran Alexander batalov now others must fight people thought that someone else would fight for them they thought the Army was so powerful that it could deal with everything they fight and they don’t get tired the country just put the responsibility on the Army now you must do your duty because everyone wants rights but no one wants responsibilities the state gives one thing and demands the other and now the state is demanding more young men stand up for their country well military analyst Frank ledwich is still with us uh Frank is it realistic for Ukraine uh to think it can boost its forces by half a million this way no it’s not it’s not just recruiting the individuals and it’s surprising by the way that only now is a draft registry of all eligible males being set up I suspect however they’re building on something already there but of course those people have to be properly trained one of the constraints on on volunteering now is that people take the view that that that training is either going to be uh very little or or or insufficient and indeed one unit I know of advertises as part of its lure to as part of its its offer if you like that we offer you 10 weeks training very few units do so look these people need to be trained formed and uh and deployed and all of that is going to take a long time and half a million is simply it’s simply too many I think the targets should be far fewer than that something attainable and that’s the problem with Ukrainian messaging that they set targets they can’t achieve and the the point there you made about training is that being widely discussed there because it’s been one of the criticisms that people have had about what Russia is doing effectively just throwing uh U uh bodies at this fight and it’s from what you’ve said it sounds like Ukraine out of desperation is starting to move along that path yes that’s right and inde dided only last week we heard an announcement from the Ukrainian justice department that convicts were going to be conscripted into the army and that of course is what the Russians did with some great effect but of course I would suspect the ukrainians aren’t going to use them the same way as the Russians which was as Canon fodder but it does point up the the situation that that the ukrainians are in uh and it’s very dire but uh there we are that’s admiring the problem how do we solve it and I suspect this is where Western Powers may have uh some input here uh in upping the degree and length of training that they offer right now it’s pretty exiguous to be candid with you pretty pretty uh insignificant in the grand scheme of things okay thanks for that Frank our military analyst Frank ledwitch thanks very much

Ukraine urgently needs new soldiers and is increasing pressure on men to sign up.

The government recently passed a new mobilization law, which means that from this weekend, Ukrainian men will have two months to register for potential conscription.

If they don’t sign up, they will be punished. .

Ukrainian authorities are hoping to mobilize up to half a million more soldiers. Russian forces heavily outnumber Ukraine’s already.

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32 comments

  1. Force people to join, that is the foundation of Democracy. Zelly only has 4 days left of his president. Wait, No elections. Another staple of Democracy….

  2. Even in a war, children need a mother at home. Peace is preferable, instead of record income for war machines.

  13. The Russians have used prisoners young men with AIDS and drug resistant TB. Okay ruthless thing to do but is it bad tactics to use your worst soldiers first to soften up enemy lines and make you waste resources? Sorry to tell you that's been going on since humans invented war .. Seriously office workers get a set.

  19. When will Kiev mayor Vitaly Kiltschko 2 sons of military age, going to volunteer or be conscripted, stop enjoying the Hamburg nightlife, recently obtained German citizenship!

  20. DW should be ashamed of its work to showing azov battalion logo on 1:43, very well known they have their natzi sympathizer and worst human rights violated.

  21. When your country is under attack and is in a war,. Its your duty to protect your country, people, freedom or you're not worthy to call it your country.

  23. In Dec 2022 – Ukraine had 800,000 soldiers – Russia had 180k. Usually over 50% are not frontline combat troops but drivers, artillery men etc etc.

    By Dec 2022 – Ukraine and western sources said that Russia had lost 350,000 men and no one is officially counting Ukraines losses. So by logic Russia were already defeated.

    May 2024 – Russia has 660,000 soldiers with another 300k in training… and get this, Ukraine has openly stated that now, Russia out man Ukraine forces by 5-1 up to 10-1 in Donetsk.

    Either Ukraine has lost 500,000 men or Russia started off with 500,000 men… we know for a fact, Russia only had 180-200k men in Feb 22.

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