Ukraine Plans Draft Reform to End Street Conscription

Ukraine aims to develop a new mobilization arrangement with businesses by Dec. 1 that would provide predictable military enlistment and remove the search for eligible men on the streets, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said Monday, Oct. 26.

Speaking at the Kyiv International Economic Forum, Koretskyi proposed linking company access to worker deferments with commitments to help replenish the armed forces, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

“If such a solution could be found, there would be no need to look for people on the streets,” he said.

Koretskyi described the proposal as an ideal model that would require agreement with employers. He said the government must balance enlistment needs, the functioning of the economy and the need to rotate soldiers already serving.

Full worker deferments would come with conditions

The proposal builds on changes outlined by the government on Friday, Oct. 23.

Under the planned mechanism, companies could qualify for full workforce deferments if they regularly help some employees volunteer for military service. Koretskyi said those joining the armed forces should know where they would serve and for how long, while retaining their jobs and salaries.

The Defense and Economy ministries are to develop the terms together with businesses, according to a government statement.

The arrangement is intended to give serving troops confidence that replacements will become available. However, the announcement did not specify service periods, the proportion of employees companies would need to recruit or a guaranteed timetable for soldiers to return home.

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Dec. 1 is the government’s target for approving the mechanism, rather than an announced date for ending street conscription.

Koretskyi warns Ukraine must prepare for Russian mobilization

Koretskyi warned that Russia could mobilize another 300,000-500,000 people and said Ukraine must prepare for that possibility.

Without advance planning, he argued, the government could again be forced to make unpopular decisions on an emergency basis. He presented the figure as a potential scenario, rather than announcing a confirmed Russian mobilization campaign.

The prime minister also said tougher accountability for people evading military service remained on the agenda. His forum remarks did not set out specific new penalties or an implementation date.

Koretskyi cautioned that changes to mobilization and deferments would not deliver a dramatic result on their own. One immediate objective, he said, was to stop the continued growth of deferments obtained through questionable arrangements.

Reform faces pressure from defense manufacturers

The government’s broader deferment overhaul targets companies allegedly created or expanded primarily to shield workers from mobilization.

Koretskyi has argued that high salaries and the absence of tax debts do not, by themselves, establish that a business is critical. The government plans to assess companies’ actual contribution to defense and essential services.

He has also said unconditional 100% deferments should end, while companies needing additional protection to maintain operations could submit a justified request to a coordination center.

Defense manufacturers have warned that reducing deferments could disrupt weapons production. Industry representatives say losing a small number of specialist engineers or welders can interrupt an entire production line, while replacements may require months or years of training.

They have called for targeted inspections of suspected abuse while preserving the workers needed to fulfill military contracts.

The debate comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine needs a large, sustainably funded military as a central security guarantee.

In an interview broadcast Sunday, Oct. 25, Zelensky said he wanted to maintain a military force with 800,000 personnel if sufficient financing were available. He rejected externally imposed limits on Ukraine’s armed forces and said funding and long-term security guarantees remained key questions in negotiations with partners.