Parliament passes bills on military service, including draft deferral for civilians released from captivity

The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed several bills on Nov. 20 changing the mobilization rules for some of the citizens who had suffered due to Russian aggression.
Ukrainian authorities have been revising the legal framework for military service to make mobilization processes more equitable as the grueling war continues for almost three years.
The Verkhovna Rada passed bills that grant the right to defer mobilization to civilians who have been released from Russian captivity, as well as the right to discharge from service to those military personnel whose step-family members were killed or went missing in the war.
The key change is that military personnel are now granted the right to be released from service after the death or disappearance of their half-siblings.
The parliament also passed a draft law to clarify rules for a draft deferral to people whose close relatives were killed or went missing while participating in hostilities.
The purpose of the bill is to eliminate “legal uncertainty” regarding the grounds for granting a deferral from military service during mobilization to women and men whose close relatives were killed or went missing during the war.
The draft law proposes that women and men whose close relatives were killed or went missing under “special circumstances” or during hostilities provoked by Russian aggression could receive a deferral.
Earlier, secretary of the parliamentary defense committee Roman Kostenko said the Defense Ministry planned to finalize the bill defining the procedure and conditions for discharging military personnel from service by Dec. 18 this year.
Ukraine’s parliament adopted an updated mobilization law in mid-April to ramp up mobilization amid Russia’s ongoing war. The new law simplifies the process for identifying eligible conscripts and includes additional penalties for those dodging the draft.
The parliament voted to remove provisions on demobilization, which previously foresaw soldiers having the right to leave the military after 36 months of service, from the bill so that they could be considered separately.
The parliament obliged the Defense Ministry to develop a relevant draft law within eight months.