Rada discussing introduction of basic military service in Ukraine instead of conscription - Cherniev

The Verkhovna Rada is discussing the introduction of basic military service in Ukraine for all citizens under the age of 25 instead of conscription.

According to the press service of the Verkhovna Rada apparatus, MP from the Servant of the People faction, deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence Yehor Cherniev reported this.

"Currently, conscript service in the army lasts from 12 to 18 months, depending on whether a person has a higher education or not. We propose to replace it with a three-month training course - this is a basic course, as well as two months of professional training. We also propose that a person, who turned 18, chose the time when is ready to undergo such training from the age from 18 to 25. That is, the person will decide that is ready to undergo such training next year or two years later," he said.

According to him, this approach will make it possible to plan the load on training grounds and training centers.

"The main idea of basic military service is that with such a neighbor as the russian federation, all our citizens should have basic military training. In general, this is one of those links that should start at school and end with the military department in universities," said the MP.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in December, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, reported that the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine asked the Ministry of Defense to dismiss conscripts, as they are no longer needed.

On December 25, the Cabinet of Ministers submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill on mobilization, which, in particular, provided for reducing the minimum conscription age for mobilization from 27 years to 25 years. On January 11, after consultations with MPs, the Cabinet of Ministers withdrew this bill for revision.

This bill, among other things, provided for the abolition of conscription and the introduction of basic military service in its place, which citizens must complete before reaching the age of 25. It was assumed that citizens would be able to choose the year and period of basic military service before reaching the age of 25. Accordingly, after reaching the age of 25, a conscript can be mobilized, regardless of military experience or education.

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