KIEV, December 14. /TASS/. Ukrainian forces are suffering casualties and require personnel rotation in the combat area, which may require the mobilization that was supposed to end on February 19, to be prolonged in 2023, Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said in her statement Wednesday.

Ukrainian reporters drew Malyar’s attention to the fact that military exemptions are being withdrawn for many employees of Ukrainian enterprises and companies and asked to share some details regarding the potential mobilization.

"These things are hard to predict, because mobilization depends on the demands of war. And, besides, there are casualties, there is a need for recovery; even those people that are alive and well today require replacement," she said.

On February 25, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree on total mobilization in Ukraine. According to the initial document, the mobilization took place in Kiev and all regions of Ukraine for 90 days. Later, the Verkhovna Rada repeatedly prolonged the mobilization, along with martial law. The current mobilization was supposed to end on February 19.

Malyar admitted that further mobilization is possible, but called on people not to panic.

"This is a normal mobilization process, do not paint it as some scary apocalypse; we talk about it publicly all the time - everything is possible, everything depends on the war," the Deputy Minister added.

Currently, Ukrainian forces lose up to one battalion of personnel as killed and injured every day; Ukrainian forces are in dire straits due to a food shortage, LPR People’s Militia officer Andrey Marochko said earlier.