People's Deputy Solomiya Bobrovska commented on the circulated information regarding the necessity to mobilize 500,000 people into the Ukrainian army, emphasizing that such a figure is not included in the plans for this year or the next. She stated this during an interview on Radio Liberty.
Bobrovska stressed that there are clear plans for mobilization, so when mentioning the figure of half a million, it is essential to pay attention to the timeframes.
"Half a million people - over what period of time? This needs to be clarified. Because throwing around such numbers is irresponsible. This year, there was planning for personnel needs. And it does not sound like 500,000 by the end of December. There are plans that have been communicated, and they are significantly less than 500,000. At least for this year, that is certain. If we talk about the next year, when the General Staff mentions the need to prioritize the replenishment of combat brigades, followed by the formation of new brigades, then we could be talking about something entirely different, and even then, it is not about half a million for next year... At least in closed sessions, we have not discussed half a million," the deputy said.
Bobrovska emphasized that Ukrainians cannot compete with Russians "symmetrically in terms of numbers," because we are not capable of doing so either in human resources or economically. Our response is "asymmetric," and we have already seen the results in the Black Sea, where our actions forced the entire Russian Black Sea fleet to leave the waters.
The deputy also stated that the new mobilization law has yielded positive results, but the so-called "busification" has negatively affected the process.
As Bobrovska noted, from April-May to September, that is, over five months, the mobilization figures were higher than the needs outlined by the General Staff.
"But it is another story when the Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRC) abuse this law. Intensive 'busifications' simply destroy any possibility of adequate work for those TRCs where normal people operate, as well as for military administrations of local self-government bodies, and the army as a whole. These are the gateways to the Armed Forces that actually undermine anything. 'Busifications' undermine the work of recruitment and brigades that are engaged in proper recruitment," the deputy commented.
Mobilization in Ukraine - Latest News
As reported by UNIAN, yesterday, People's Deputy and Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security Roman Kostenko stated that Ukraine needs to mobilize 500,000 people, but did not specify the deadlines. He noted that mobilization in Ukraine was stable from May to September, but then started to decline, and although efforts were made to improve the situation in October, the overall trend is downward.
He reminded that earlier, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi mentioned such a figure. "This number is more relevant than how many we are recruiting or what we were told before, that we do not need that much," Kostenko said.
Zaluzhnyi, on the other hand, spoke about 500,000 mobilized by the end of 2023 as a request formulated by the General Staff for 2024 to cover the current shortfall at that time, which arose from the formation of new military units, as well as from projected losses. Such a request is submitted to the Ministry of Defense, which is the legislative initiative subject that then decides how to meet these needs, Zaluzhnyi explained.
At the end of October this year, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksandr Litvinenko stated that 160,000 people need to be mobilized to fill brigades to 85%.
Veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war and lawyer Masi Naiem stated yesterday that if 160,000 people are not mobilized within the next two months, Ukraine will have to sign a capitulation.