By Yuliia Dysa
(Reuters) -Ukraine's parliament passed a bill on Thursday to overhaul its army mobilisation rules as Kyiv tries to generate fresh manpower to rotate its exhausted troops fighting Russian invaders.
The bill must be signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy before it becomes law. Here is an overview of what the changes entail.
MILITARY RECORDS
The bill would oblige Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 years of age to update their personal data with the military authorities, allowing draft offices to see more easily who can be called up in any given region.
Military-age men would be legally required at all times to carry the registration document they are given by the draft office. Draft officers would be allowed to ask to see the document in the street.
WATERED-DOWN PUNISHMENTS
The bill would ban people from driving vehicles if they do not abide by the mobilisation rules. An earlier draft had proposed tough punishments such as asset freezes for such people, but that was cut after a public outcry. A separate bill proposing fines for draft dodgers passed its first reading on Wednesday.
DEMOBILIZATION
The bill does not set any time limit for wartime military service, meaning that soldiers who have been fighting since the February 2022 beginning of the full-scale invasion still have no sense of when they will be demobilised. An earlier draft of the bill had proposed setting a time limit.
MILITARY REGISTRATION FOR UKRAINIANS ABROAD
Martial law prohibits men of military age from going abroad and there is no procedure for calling up Ukrainian men who are abroad. The bill proposes a tracking procedure but it is unclear what that would look like in practice as it is yet to be determined by the government.
Receiving consular services for things like renewing passports would require Ukrainian men to present their military registration documents. It would be possible for them to register online without necessarily visiting draft offices in Ukraine.
PERKS FOR VOLUNTEER FIGHTERS
The bill proposes offering financial perks for people who volunteer to fight in the army and sign an army contract. In particular, those bonuses could include a certificate to buy a vehicle and financial assistance for first mortgage payments.
OTHER PROVISIONS
The bill would abolish mandatory conscription for Ukrainian men aged 18 or older, and replace it with basic military training for all men starting from September 2025.
One new provision in the bill would allow people who have been convicted and given a suspended sentence to serve in the army. Convicts are currently banned from any type of military service.
After being mobilised, all men must undergo compulsory training before being sent to a combat area.
In some cases, authorities would be able to seize vehicles from citizens and enterprises for the army's needs.