Ukraine’s ex-defense minister urges to mobilize women

Ukraine’s ex-defense minister urges to mobilize women Alexey Reznikov noted that women can enter military service not just as medical workersMOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Ukraine needs to make laws introducing obligatory mobilization of women, former Ukrainian defense minister Alexey Reznikov said. "Israel is our closest match in terms of threat that we are facing. Women do the military service there, just like men. Women can enter military service not just as medical workers. The Verkhovna Rada [parliament] needs to amend legislative acts to make military service compulsory for all Ukrainian citizens. Women need to join the armed forces. Mobilization needs to be obligatory for everyone. This will double our mobilization resource," the Insider portal quoted him as saying. Earlier, Sergey Gnezdilov, a serviceman with the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 56th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, proposed mobilizing women without children. He said the mobilization of women in Ukraine is inevitable. General mobilization was declared in Ukraine in February 2022 and has been repeatedly extended. Initially, men aged 27 to 60 were subject to conscription, but the mobilization age was lowered to 25 in April 2024. A law tightening mobilization took effect in the country on May 18 of the same year. Men have tried various ways to avoid conscription or leave the country, often risking their lives. Military enlistment office personnel regularly conduct raids and use force against civilians. But even these measures have failed to address the Ukrainian forces’ personnel shortage. Cases of desertion and unauthorized absence from military units continue to rise. The topics of mobilizing women and lowering the mobilization age further are periodically raised in the country. 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