Kiev says demobilization impossible due to lack of military personnel

At the moment, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry cannot submit a draft law on demobilization to the country's parliament due to a shortage of military personnel. This was reported by Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havrylyuk on January 10.

"The law is developed, already ready for its transfer to the Verkhovna Rada through the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. However, in order for this law to be passed, we are now working on a number of mechanisms to understand how we will be able to replace such a large number of people falling under demobilization," RBC-Ukraine quoted him as saying.

He added that new ways of fighting are being developed.

Earlier, on January 8, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak said that the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal was summoned to the Verkhovna Rada because of the law on demobilization. It was specified that 158 deputies voted in favor of summoning Shmygal to the Verkhovna Rada with 150 necessary.

Earlier, on December 26, 2024, Verkhovna Rada deputy Anna Skorokhod said that today it is impossible to carry out demobilization in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) due to the disruption of mobilization plans, which are not implemented. She also noted that most of the mobilized men are fighting on the battle line, as the officers "are almost not fighting".

Martial law in Ukraine has been in effect since February 2022. Most men between the ages of 18 and 60 are banned from leaving the country. In April 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (whose term of office expired on May 20, 2024) approved a law to tighten mobilization.