Without demobilisation. Parliament bans mobilisation of Ukrainians under 25 — MP

On Wednesday, 9 October, the Verkhovna Rada passed draft law 11379-d. It exempts Ukrainians aged 18 to 25 from mobilisation. A total of 311 MPs voted in favor.

This was reported by MP Oleksiy Honcharenko.

At the same time, the provision granting exemption to men aged 18 to 25 who had already been mobilised was removed from the draft law.

«They plan to create a new draft law with a mechanism for this,» Honcharenko explained.

Previously MPs discussed the possibility of lowering the mobilisation age in Ukraine. It was discussed by Roman Kostenko, Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defence, and Intelligence during a broadcast of the «Greater Lviv Speaks» project.

Additionally, the issue of lowering the mobilisation age to 20 is not currently being considered by either the Verkhovna Rada or the Defence Committee. This was discussed on Hromadske Radio by Vadym Ivchenko, an MP and member of the Defence Committee of the Verkhovna Rada.

«Although we are receiving signals from the Armed Forces of Ukraine indicating that individuals with different levels of physical fitness are needed for real combat missions, it is challenging for people aged 47 to 50 to carry out some of the tasks requested by brigade commanders. These signals have been directed to us and the National Security and Defence Committee. However, the Committee has not discussed the issue, and it is not on our agenda. Nor is it being discussed in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,» the MP assured.

As a reminder, AFU shared details of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ withdrawal from Vuhledar, Donetsk region. This was discussed by colonel Oleksandr Okhrimenko, the newly appointed commander of the 72nd Separate Mechanised Brigade.

He also addressed the challenges of evacuating the wounded. AFU faced significant imbalance in troop numbers between Ukrainian and Russian forces. The situation was particularly harsh on the flanks. This made holding the city increasingly difficult.