The Ukrainian parliament voted, on Wednesday, in the first reading, in favor of a controversial draft law on military mobilization aimed at allowing the army to replenish its ranks after two years of war with Russia, representatives announced.
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A total of 243 elected officials voted in favor of this document, compared to the minimum requirement of 226, many parliamentarians wrote on social networks.
However, for the text to be adopted, it must remain the subject of parliamentary debates, proposed amendments and a vote on second reading, a procedure that could take place over several weeks. It will then have to be issued by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The debate over mobilization has raged for weeks in Ukraine. The Ukrainian army has suffered losses, the extent of which is kept secret, and today, unlike at the beginning of the conflict, is struggling to find volunteers for the front.
This draft law prepared by the government was scheduled to be studied in Parliament in January, but MPs ended up sending the text back to rewrite it.
The document voted on Wednesday on plans to simplify registration procedures and impose penalties on those who resist. However, unlike the previous draft, it stipulates that these penalties must be approved by the court.
However, according to critics, it does not solve the problem of demobilizing those who have been at the front for a long time.
Volodymyr Zelensky said in December that the army had offered to mobilize up to 500,000 additional people.
