Government finalises changes to the reservation system

The Government has finalised changes to the reservation system, Prime Minister of Ukraine Sergii Koretskyi has announced.

"The main goal is fair and clear rules for everyone who works in the rear, and above all for those who fight. Every month, the number of employees with deferral grows by tens of thousands. Meanwhile, people who have been defending the country for the fifth year must be able to return home from service. That is why we are taking difficult but necessary decisions," the Head of Government said.

The Government has adopted the following changes:

First. A business's criticality will be separated from its economic indicators.

The Prime Minister noted that critical sectors should be those that genuinely work for defence and the economy: the defence industry, energy, communications, logistics, housing and utilities, and others. Nothing will change for them. However, sectoral and regional criticality criteria will be updated and checked for abuse.

Second. The maximum level of deferral, including for energy and the defence industry, will no longer be 100%.

Sergii Koretskyi observed that unconditional full reservation is unfair to those who serve and opens the door to abuse. Some companies were created specifically to obtain deferrals, and it became a business.

"At the same time, we will not weaken the work of those who produce weapons or keep critical infrastructure running. If uninterrupted operation requires more employees to be reserved, an enterprise will be able to submit a substantiated request to the Coordination Centre," the Prime Minister said.

Third. The Ministry of Defence is strengthening liability for evading service. The Head of Government stressed: "The rules must be the same for everyone."

Fourth. A mechanism for 100% deferral subject to fulfilment of a mobilisation commitment is being prepared.

According to Sergii Koretskyi, an enterprise will be able to reserve its employees in full if it regularly and voluntarily sends some of them to military service. It is essential that a person knows where they are going and for how long. Their job and salary are retained.

"The conditions will be worked out by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Economy and Environment together with business. The Government's goal is to approve a transparent and effective mechanism by 1 December. This will give confidence to those at the front that rotation is possible and that others will come to take their place. And for those who go to serve, it will give confidence that they are going for a clearly defined period. The ultimate goal is that no one has to look for anyone on the streets. There must be a clear system in which everyone knows their rights and obligations," the Prime Minister emphasised.

The Head of Government added that these decisions do not mean tighter mobilisation tomorrow. "They are needed first of all to put the deferral system in order and root out abuse. But we as a state and society must also be prepared for any development, including intensified mobilisation in Russia. We are fighting a war for the survival of our state and our people. These decisions are not easy, but they must be taken," Sergii Koretskyi concluded.