Kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky signed a controversial law on Tuesday, days after it was passed by parliament, potentially allowing Kyiv to increase conscription to replenish depleted armed forces to fend off Russia’s continued aggression.
The mobilization law, published on Ukraine’s parliamentary website, is expected to come into force within a month and make it easier to identify every man in the country eligible for military service. Many have avoided conscription by avoiding contact with the authorities.
The law also offers soldiers incentives, such as cash bonuses or money to buy a house or car, which analysts say Ukraine cannot afford.
Ukraine is struggling to fend off the Russian advance.
Since the start of the large-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has captured almost a quarter of Ukraine. Ukraine is outnumbered, has fewer weapons and is in desperate need of more troops and ammunition as doubts about Western military aid grow.
The signed law was watered down from the original draft. It did not include a provision that would rotate troops who had served 36 months in combat. Authorities said a separate bill on demobilization and rotation would be prepared in the coming months. But the delay sparked public outrage among Ukrainians, whose relatives have been fighting without interruption for two years.
Exhausted soldiers have no way to take a break from their work on the front lines due to the current scale and intensity of the war.
Ukraine already suffers from a lack of trained soldiers who can fight, and demobilizing frontline soldiers now would deprive its armed forces of the most capable fighters.
In December, Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian army wanted to mobilize another 500,000 troops. Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has since conducted an audit of the army and said soldiers could be rotated from the rear line to the front line. The song has been revised but has not been released.
