The Ministry of Defence is addressing the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defence, and Intelligence with a request to postpone the preparation of a draft law on the conditions for the demobilization of servicemen during martial law until March 18, 2025.
This was reported by a source in the parliamentary defense committee to Ukrayinska Pravda, according to a letter from Defence Minister Rustem Umyerov to the committee, which is at the disposal of UP.
The letter states that the Ministry of Defence has developed a draft law to improve rotation mechanisms, determine the procedure and conditions for service discharge for certain categories of military personnel during martial law.
The document provides, among other things, for the establishment of new norms regarding service discharge and rotation for servicemen who have been performing tasks in combat zones for an extended period.
The draft law was sent for approval to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Administration of the State Transport Special Service.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not support the draft law, arguing that its consideration in the Verkhovna Rada is possible only if a sufficient number of militarily trained resources are accumulated at the military registration in the TRC, and citizens are recruited into the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the appropriate volumes.
"According to the information provided by the General Staff, in the event of the implementation of this draft law, the number of servicemen eligible for discharge will be approximately 108,000 people (14,000 of whom are officers), which, if they are discharged simultaneously, will lead to a significant reduction in the staffing of combat units."
At the same time, the letter notes that the Ministry of Defence considered two alternative versions of the draft law. In particular, it is proposed to provide military personnel who have continuously served for 36 months during martial law and who have participated in combat actions in combat zones for at least 18 months during this period:
with rehabilitation for up to two months, and after its completion, an additional one-time leave of 30 days with the preservation of monthly financial support; an additional one-time leave of 90 days with the preservation of monthly financial support.These alternative options also propose to obligate commanders to conduct rotations of military personnel who have directly participated in combat actions for 90 days.
"These alternative draft laws require detailed discussion and the adoption of an appropriate decision at the level of state leadership. In view of this, we ask to postpone the deadlines for the task defined in subparagraph 1.40 of Plan 3633-IX (referring to the drafting of a law on demobilization conditions. - UP) until March 18, 2025."