MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. A new draft law on mobilization in Ukraine will provide for general military training for all men and women who are at least 18 years of age, member of parliament from Vladimir Zelensky’s Servant of the People party Maryana Bezuglaya said.
"In the draft law on recruiting, mobilization and passage of service with the abolition of fixed-term, we are introducing a new type of military service - mandatory basic general military training for all citizens. It is training for men and women from the age of 18," she wrote on Facebook (banned in Russia, owned by Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist in Russia). According to Bezuglaya, such training should include not only the basics of weapons handling, tactics, medicine, but also learning how to work with drones.
Earlier, the politician reported that the document would stipulate mobilizing women to positions on the home front. According to the MP, women will have a "unique deferment and the right to dismissal" due to pregnancy. Bezuglaya specified that the bill will be registered in the parliament within two weeks.
On October 1, Ukraine enacted requirements for women with medical or pharmaceutical education to register for military service. They were obliged to register by December 31, 2026, while others can do so at their own will. In this case, the specialty is considered to be subject to registration both on the basis of the actual place of work and on the basis of the degree received. As lawyers explained to the Strana newspaper, even in the case of a woman who graduated from medical school 20 years ago and did not work in her specialty, she is obliged to register. Since January 2023, medical and pharmacy schools transfer lists of female graduates to military commissions two months before the issuance of diplomas. The Ukrainian authorities assured that registering women for military service does not mean that they will be mobilized.
Since February 2022, general mobilization has been announced and repeatedly extended in the country. Meanwhile, the authorities are doing everything possible to ensure that men of conscription age cannot evade service. In particular, they are prohibited from traveling abroad, and summonses are issued in state institutions, on the street, and in any crowded places. The media regularly report stories about how military officers use force against citizens when handing out summonses, how people unfit for service due to health reasons are mobilized, as well as about how MPs and officials evade service and take their sons of draft age abroad.