On July 16, 2024, an important moment came for many Ukrainians – the 60-day period allotted by the mobilization law for updating military registration data passed. This date causes considerable interest and concern in society. What consequences await those who have not fulfilled their duties? How does the government plan to enforce the law? What should those who have not yet managed to fulfill their duties do?
How many people updated their military registration data?
According to the data of the Ministry of Defense, as of the morning of July 16, more than 4 million people have updated their data through the “Reserve+” application, territorial procurement centers (TCC) or Administrative Services Provision Centers (TSC). Of them, 2.7 million did it through “Rezerv+”. Today, there are approximately 11.1 million citizens who are subject to mobilization in Ukraine, of which about 1 million are already serving. So, almost 36% of conscripts have updated their data so far. It is worth noting that among those who updated their data, a certain percentage are active military and reservists.
What problems arise when updating military registration data?
Representatives of territorial procurement centers (TCC) complain about the high flow of people wishing to update their data, which makes it difficult to cope with the work on time. In one of the regional TCC employees, who wished to remain anonymous, stated:
“The approximate number of people we should have accepted in 60 days is approximately 40 thousand. We have accepted about 3-4 thousand. The rest will either not come to TsNAP, ‘Reserve+’, or to us, or have already updated their data through TSNAP or Reserve +, and they are all right.”
At the same time, conscripts who update their data in TsNAP or through the “Reserve+” application face certain problems that can only be solved in TCC. The most common of them is the discrepancy of data in the electronic cabinet from the “Oberig” registry, which collects, stores and processes information for the military registration of citizens.
Other problems include a lack of skilled workers and the imperfection of the electronic queue, which only works to record updates of conscripts’ data. People come to TCC with various questions, which leads to confusion of all “visitors” in the general queue. Therefore, there is no guarantee that a conscript who came to update his data at 09.00 will be accepted on time.
In addition, many Ukrainians complain that they cannot get to TsNAPs and TCCs on time, come several times, queue up from 4 in the morning, despite the curfew.
What will change from July 17
From July 17, representatives of the TCC will have the right to send summonses to citizens by mail. If the conscript has not updated his data by July 16, a summons will be sent to his registered address. Such a summons will be considered delivered even if the citizen did not receive it or refused to sign it. Summons will not be sent via e-mail boxes in the “Action” or “Reserve+” applications.
If the conscript received a summons, in particular for the first time, but did not appear before the TCC, he will be declared wanted. This status will be displayed in the “Oberig” electronic register. It is worth noting that earlier the “wanted” status was displayed for 710,000 citizens for no reason, but the Ministry of Defense corrected this error thanks to the “Reserve+” application.
Violators who did not update their data or register for military service by July 17 will be fined from 17,000 to 25,500 hryvnias. The authority to impose fines in such cases rests exclusively with the heads of territorial centers of procurement and social support, and it will be possible to challenge them only through court. The payment of the fine does not release from the obligation to appear at the TCC and update the military registration data. The deadline for this is not defined by law, but repeated failure to update data will result in an even larger fine, depending on the decision of the head of the district TCC. The TCC explains that paying a fine is not a way to avoid military service.
It is worth knowing that the law of Ukraine and other regulatory legal acts do not provide for the procedure of automatic imposition of fines on those who have not updated their data by July 16. The Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses provides for the imposition of a fine for such violations within three months from the moment of its detection and up to one year from the moment of its commission. There is only one fine for one offense, and this can be checked, but the service for checking the presence of fines from TCCs on the Opendatabot public data site has become paid.
Ukrainians who did not have time to update their military registration data by July 16 can avoid a fine if they provide documents confirming the impossibility of doing so within 60 days. However, extension of the data update period for such persons is not provided for by Ukrainian legislation. That is, even if these citizens, for example, were on sick leave or had other valid reasons, they will still be considered offenders and will be fined. Such persons can challenge the fine in court by submitting documents that show good reasons.
If information about the credentials of conscripts is lost
There are many Ukrainians whose credentials have been lost. There are often cases when a person was registered, but his documents were not preserved or were irretrievably lost. This applies to citizens who lived in the now occupied territories and now have the status of an internally displaced person (IDP). There is no information about such persons in the TCC and they are obliged to register for the military and must pass the VLK. If this is not done, the conscript will face fines.
If you don’t pay the fine
Conscripts should know – if the fine is not paid, the case will be transferred to the executive service, which will open proceedings and may seize his property or block bank accounts. At the same time, the law “On enforcement proceedings” provides: if the total amount of the fine does not exceed 160 thousand hryvnias, the seizure of housing or land is not carried out. In this case, the enforcement service is obliged to seize other property of the debtor in accordance with the amount of the fine.
How it will happen in practice
The head of the TCC asks the police to deliver the violator to the collection center, that is, the police will have the right to detain violators and deliver them to the TCC. If the police respond that they could not find him, the TCC sends the violator a paper letter with a request to update the data.
If a person does not comply with the requirement, his driver’s license may be revoked by a court decision. The court can refuse the TCC. In particular, if the disqualification leaves a person without a primary legitimate source of income – that is, if the person works as a driver. And also if she uses the car in connection with her disability or the disability of the person she supports. In addition, a conscript has the right to appeal the court’s decision.
Also, a person who has not updated the data may be temporarily restricted in the right to use a car. The algorithm of actions in this case will be as follows: the head of the TCC asks the police to deliver the violator to the collection center. If the police respond that they could not find him, the TCC sends the violator a paper letter with a request to update the data. If a person does not comply with the requirement, his driver’s license may be revoked by court order.
The court can refuse the TCC. In particular, if the disqualification leaves a person without a primary legitimate source of income – that is, if the person works as a driver. And also if she uses the car in connection with her disability or the disability of the person she supports. In addition, a conscript has the right to appeal the court’s decision.
What awaits Ukrainians abroad
The same sanctions apply to conscripts who did not update their military registration data by July 17 abroad. However, as Deputy Minister of Defense Kateryna Chernogorenko noted, the implementation of this procedure will be difficult.
“There is no clear tool on how to implement this, because a resolution on an administrative offense is created, which a person must accept, then he must pay a fine, etc. This issue will be discussed with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” – Chernogorenko explained.
In addition, due to the lack of up-to-date data in the electronic military registration document, consular restrictions will be introduced for them. In particular, they will not be able to obtain new passports or extend the validity of old ones, acquire or leave citizenship, enter consular registration, get married, register a child.
Update of military registration data and VLK
Ukrainian legislation provides for various types of military service, including updating data and passing a medical examination to determine fitness for military service. The Ministry of Defense emphasizes that when updating data, it is not necessary to pass a military medical commission (MMC), it is required only after receiving a summons. According to the Director of the Personnel Policy Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Mark Andrusiak, if a person has updated his credentials, but has not passed the VLK, then a separate fine may be imposed for this. He also emphasized that updating data and passing the VLK are two different types of military duty, and separate fines are provided for separate offenses.
However, Andrusiak’s statement is not entirely correct, as fines for failure to pass the VLK can be imposed only when a person has received a summons and has not passed the VLK within the specified time. If a conscript has updated his data in “Reserve+” or TsNAP, he cannot be fined for not passing the VLK, since there was no such obligation. All duties are clearly defined in Art. 22 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilization Training and Mobilization”, and among them there is no obligation to pass the VLK without a summons.
It is worth noting that the term of validity of the conclusion of the VLK during martial law is 1 year. That is, a conscript must undergo an annual medical examination to determine fitness for military service. After the cancellation of the status of “limited fitness” from May 4 this year, citizens aged 18 to 60, who were previously assigned this status, must undergo a repeat medical examination within 9 months – until February 4, 2025. The conclusion of the VLK will decide to which category they should be assigned. If such citizens do not pass the VLC within the specified time, they face fines for breach of duty. conscripts whose account information has been completely lost.
It is noteworthy that People’s Deputy Yuriy Kamelchuk expressed concern about the medical examination of conscripts. According to him, the problem is that only 5-7 minutes are allotted for the examination of one person at the VLC. The chances of a normal VLC passing are low, if the person does not insist on re-examination.
“An ineffective fighter for the commander is a problem, it is a burden. People with complicated diseases receive additional military disability, which requires additional funding.”Kamelchuk said.
The statement of another people’s deputy – George Mazurasha is also indicative. He claims that the TCC has a new tactic – to force people to fight by deception:
“A citizen is met on the street, invited to the TCC to clarify the data. If he does not have documents on unfitness with him, he is sent to the VLK, where they can be declared fit with reservations. Then the person is sent to the landfill with the offer to complete the paperwork at this time or even to receive the status of a participant in hostilities, and then to be released”.
So, the deadline for updating military accounting data in Ukraine has expired, which revealed a number of serious problems that require immediate attention and solutions. Lack of clear coordination between various government agencies and deficiencies in the accounting system lead to confusion and delays in the mobilization process. Insufficient digitization of data makes it difficult to promptly update information, which is critically important in wartime conditions. In addition, the low level of training and the insufficient number of resources for conducting such activities jeopardize the effectiveness of military accounting. And those Ukrainians who have not updated their data should prepare for harsh sanctions and courts.
