MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) bills extending the country’s martial law and mobilization campaign by 90 days starting on August 12, according to data on the parliament’s website.
Thus, martial law will remain in effect in Ukraine all the way through the US presidential election on November 5.
Martial law was imposed in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and general mobilization was declared on the same day. Both martial law and general mobilization have been extended several times since. The last time, martial law was extended to August 11.
The country’s authorities are doing everything possible to prevent men from dodging the draft. Forceful mobilization has exacerbated divisions in society, with draft-age men doing their best to leave the country, often risking their lives. Still, Zelensky signed an infamous law on April 16, which tightened mobilization rules and provided grounds for calling hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians into the army.
The repeated extension of martial law made it impossible for the country to hold parliamentary and presidential elections. In this regard, discussions have been underway in Ukraine about Zelensky’s legitimacy because his term in office expired on May 21.