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Publication date: 01.05.2024
Practicing attorney and lawyer with more than 12 years of practical experience in various branches of law
2 April in Ukraine was the day of signed bills. And one of them was Bill 3127, which lowered the draft age in Ukraine. After that sprinkled heaps of rumours about conscription from 16 years in Ukraine, that now they can mobilize everyone and so on. In this article we will analyse how much it is true.
Reduction of the draft age in Ukraine
Yes, indeed, on 2 April 2024 the President signed the bill 3127, which has long been considered by the Verkhovna Rada as early as 30.05.2023, and was waiting for its time.
The decision was not popular, so its signing was postponed all the time.
And now it has been signed.
And now the draft age in Ukraine has been lowered from 27 years to 25 years.
And what does it mean? Many people will ask.
In fact, it means a lot.
The fact is that before the draft age a man from 18 years old could not be legally mobilised without his voluntary consent. Provided that he had not previously served and had not passed the military department in his educational institution.
I.e. earlier, if you were not 27 years old, did not serve, did not graduate from the military department, you could not be mobilised without your consent from 18 to 27 years old. And such persons were subject to mobilisation only from the age of 27 to 60.
Now the window of opportunity to get such an extra-legal deferment has closed. And now persons who have not served before and have not graduated from the military department cannot be mobilised until the age of 25. And from 25 to 60 years of age all are subject to mobilisation.
In practice, I have repeatedly encountered the practice among military commissions that even before the age of conscription they still tried to give a mobilisation order to those who had not served before.
But it was illegal. And we all know that in such a case the best method of defence is to refuse to sign the summons and go to court with a lawsuit to challenge it.
Now all this is possible only until the military conscript reaches the age of 25.
Conscription from the age of 16 Ukraine and basic military service
After the adoption of the bill 3127 and the lowering of the draft age, all of a sudden everyone suddenly started talking that everything, that now almost from 16 years old everyone will be able to mobilise.
So far I can reassure everyone, it is not true. And today it is just panic, nothing more.
But let us understand what these rumours are connected with and what they are based on.
Basic military training of conscripts
Rumours about mobilisation in Ukraine from 16 or 18 years old are connected with basic military training and basic military service.
But the draft law 3127 did not introduce any basic military training.
At the same time, they want to introduce it in the bill 10449, for which now on 11.04.2024 everyone is already voting. It is supposed to be introduced in bill 10379, which, by the way, also wants to increase the liability for failure to appear at the military enlistment centre when summoned.
We will also discuss the issue of liability later. But in this article, let's return to the basic military service.
So, it is supposed to introduce that persons from 18 to 25 years old, who are students of higher educational institutions, will be obliged to undergo basic military training. And those who are not students - basic military service.
This is planned to be introduced as an alternative to compulsory military service, which is now cancelled during the war.
They want to introduce it for a period of 5 months in peacetime and for 3 months in wartime.
And the big question is whether those who have undergone basic military training will be considered as those who have already served earlier. And, accordingly, whether they will be subject to mobilisation before reaching the age of 25.
This is a very popular question on the net.
Here I can calm everyone down for now. According to the amendment to Bill 10449, it is clearly stated that those who have completed basic military service or basic military training will not be subject to mobilisation without their voluntary consent until the age of 25. And that's a welcome development.
Let us hope that this will remain the case and that no one will amend this provision later on.
Escort at the territorial recruitment and social support center is popular now, fine for failure to appear at the military commissariat is more and more, human rigts are bullshit for military commissariat, hiding from the military commissariat is not good idea, responsibility for failure to appear at the military commissariat is very strict.
