Youth mobilization: lawyers comment on the legal aspects of the draft of Ukrainians aged 18-25

With each new wave of mobilization, the topic of the prize of youth aged 18 to 25 is becoming more and more discussed and important. In this difficult period for the country, young people face many questions and worries about their rights and responsibilities. The legal community is actively involved in this process, providing comments, clarifications and recommendations to help understand complex legal mechanisms and procedures. In particular, lawyers draw attention to the importance of compliance with the law, explain the procedures for appealing illegal decisions, and also provide recommendations on how to properly prepare for a possible draft. It is important to know your rights and responsibilities in order to be prepared for any possible scenarios.

Lawyers from the “Repeshko and Partners” Bar Association comment on the legal aspects of the draft of Ukrainians aged 18 to 25, and also provide useful advice.

As soon as the state dealt with the mobilization of the main mass of men, additional questions began to appear. According to the people’s deputy, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Policy Dmytro Natalukha, at least about 800,000 men are trying with all their might to evade mobilization, choosing to become more invisible to the official authorities and thus avoid the draft. For this, they generally quit their jobs, being fully supported by their wives or roommates, change their address, get a job unofficially where payment is made in cash, try not to travel by public transport, bypass roadblocks.

At the same time, information appears almost constantly in the news that some men are trying to either solve the issue of exclusion from military registration or illegally cross the border of Ukraine for money. For example, in 2022, one of the heads of the district TCC and SP in Prykarpattia unjustifiably excluded six hundred reserve officers from military registration, which allowed them to go abroad.

Deputies repeatedly raised the issue of the so-called “economic reservation”, according to which a regular payment to the state budget, in the presence of several other conditions, enables the reservation of an employee. But every time the general public raised a storm, noting that this way there is class inequality – the rich may not fight, but the poor will have to in any case. It is very difficult to say whether this option is fair or not, because on the one hand, conditional Petro, who has successfully studied all his life, obtained an education, improved his qualifications, is a good specialist and knows how to earn, can make a financial contribution every month both to the provision of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and economy as a whole. On the other hand, Vasyl, who always studied mediocrely, does not have a higher education, sweeps the yard in front of the house and will continue to do so for the minimum wage. It is currently unknown what the legislative body will decide on this issue, it is difficult to be moderate about the situation, because everyone knows about the numerical superiority of the enemy.

However, as people’s deputies report, representatives of allied countries believe that the average age of a soldier on the front line is too high and that men aged 18-25 have the most effective and optimal potential to participate in military operations. It is difficult to agree with this, because usually men of this age receive higher or secondary special education in this period of time, and therefore it is ineffective to separate them from this process, because it will lead to a loss of brains within the framework of the entire country and a loss of qualified workers. In case of introduction of reservation for study time, there is no sense in lowering the conscription age, because a significant number of men will try to study anywhere in order not to join the ranks of the Armed Forces.

In April 2024, by law, the mobilization age for men was lowered from 27 to 25. At the same time, according to current legislation, men aged 18 to 25 are included in the category of conscripts. The mentioned persons can be mobilized in the following cases:

• the man completed military service in peacetime;
• the man graduated from a higher military educational institution or military department and received a certain military accounting specialty;
• the man was recognized by the VLK as limitedly fit, that is, unfit for military service in peacetime and fit in wartime.

Legislation problems

That is, as a general rule, men of the specified age category are not mobilized. But there are some cases. In March 2022, a 19-year-old student from Kharkiv, who studied full-time, was detained by representatives of the Territorial Procurement Center (TCC) just at the station in Uzhgorod, where he had come to evacuate his mother. The TCC included the boy in the list of conscripts and sent him to a military unit. The student’s lawyers filed a lawsuit in court, the process of which lasted a year and a half. Among the defendants in the case were the Uzhhorod RTCC and the military unit where Volodymyr was sent. During this time, six court hearings took place. The problem in the legislation is that in the case of illegal mobilization of persons, the military unit cannot independently release them, even if it detects a violation by the TCC. Military servicemen can be released only by a court decision. Such actions or inaction can lead to tragic consequences on the front line while the case is pending.

In addition, the category of men who were recognized by the VLK as limited fit, that is, unfit for military service in peacetime and fit in wartime, raises the most questions. In connection with the current changes in the mobilization legislation, there is no procedure for transferring men under the age of 25 from the list of conscripts to the list of conscripts, who were previously recognized as having limited fitness, and in the future, after passing a second medical examination, will be recognized as fit. Thus, a “hole” was created in the legislation due to which some men under the age of 25 can be mobilized.

According to the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilization Training and Mobilization”, military conscripts who have completed basic military training in accordance with Article 10-1 of the Law “On Military Duty and Military service” or basic military service. The question arises regarding those men who did not undergo this training or service – what to do with this category?

Yes, there is a practice when, when updating data in the TCC and SP, students who have a temporary certificate of conscript, issued as limited fit, can be sent to the VLK, where there is a possibility that they will be recognized as fit for mobilization. We would like to remind you that there is no procedure for transferring men under 25 years of age from the list of military conscripts to the list of conscripts, who were previously recognized as having limited fitness.

This gap has a negative impact on the mood in society, because it turns out that healthy boys are not affected by the TCC and SP, and those who had health issues may well be sent to the service. In turn, the Decree of the President of Ukraine “On General Mobilization”, which refers to the draft of conscripts and reservists, also adds fuel to the fire. The decree does not contain age limits for who can be mobilized and who cannot.

Confusion in concepts and statuses arises due to the fact that there are several statuses for men over the age of 18, which are enshrined in the current legislation:

• subpoena;
• conscript;
• conscript;
• reservist;
• serviceman.

According to another gradation, there are also:

• suitable for service;
• suitable for service in military support units, TCC and SP, military educational institutions, training centers, institutions, medical units, units of logistics, communication, operational support, security;
• unfit for military service with exclusion from military registration;
• temporarily unfit – require treatment, leave, release from official duties;
• unfit for military service with review after 6-12 months.

Men under the age of 25 are currently considered for “conscript” status if they have not completed military service or studied at a military educational institution.

Currently, the Verkhovna Rada has a draft of the Law on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilization Training and Mobilization” on expanding the range of conscripts under the age of 25 to grant a deferment from conscription for military service during mobilization No. 11379 dated June 24, 2024. But no one knows when it will become law and in what final version.

According to the proposed draft, the wording of Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilization Training and Mobilization” will be as follows:

 “Deferral from conscription for military service during mobilization … 5. Conscripts who have completed basic general military training in accordance with Article 10-1 of the Law of Ukraine “On Military Conscription” are not subject to conscription for military service during mobilization before reaching the age of 25 connection and military service” or basic military service and conscripts who were recognized as unfit for military service in peacetime, limited fit in wartime until the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Certain Issues of Military Service” enters into force , mobilization and military accounting” No. 3633-IX dated April 11, 2024, in case they are recognized as suitable for military service. Such persons may be called up for military service during the specified period with their consent.”

Now men from 18 to 25 are enrolled in the category of conscripts – they are assigned to a conscription station and can go to serve in the army voluntarily under a contract. But, in addition to the situation we have already described, there are also known cases when the TCC and SP detained men who were under 25 years old and who should not be mobilized. However, in the absence of contact with relatives for several days and specific conditions of detention in the TCC – telephones and personal belongings were taken away, these persons were forced to sign a contract for voluntary service in the ranks of the Armed Forces.

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to do something later if there is a person’s signature on the papers. In any case, court proceedings are time, and those who are sent to fight do not have it. Appealing the actions of employees to the Ministry of Defense does not make sense – they usually do not see violations in the actions of TCC employees, which is a very convenient position. It is a fantastic task to return people who have passed the VLK (and in such cases ten people pass it at the same time in an hour) and are sent for military training to the training center to civilian life.

Therefore, all men under the age of 25 must carefully check what documents they have in their hands, because their fate will depend on this.

Yes, different categories of men have different military registration documents. It looks like this:

• conscripts have a certificate of registration to the precinct;
• conscripts have a military card or a temporary certificate of a conscript;
• reservists have a military card.

If a man has not reached the age of 25, but has a military flower, he can be mobilized.

In matters of life and death, it is quite difficult to achieve a balance. The longer the hostilities continue on the territory of Ukraine, the more painful issues arise in society, the more unpopular decisions the authorities have to make. We still hope for the wisdom of our law-making body and the sooner the end of hostilities.