CinC Syrskyi: Demobilization would mean losing nearly third of army

According to Ukrinform, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi said this in an interview with the publication “Livyi Bereg”.

“When the Verkhovna Rada raised the issue last year to include the issue of demobilization in the law on mobilization and to provide an opportunity to demobilize those who have served for three years, we calculated that in April of this year, out of the entire number of groups that we had at the front, about 350,000 would have resigned immediately. In fact, we would have lost a third of the army,” explained Syrskyi.

As Ukrinform reported, on April 11, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law on mobilization. It was supported by 283 MPs. By adopting the law, the Rada obliged the government (the Ministry of Defense) to draft a bill on demobilization within eight months. The Ministry of Defense had to prepare the relevant draft law by December 18. 

On January 10, First Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk said that the draft law on demobilization during martial law had already been developed by the government and was ready to be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, but that a number of mechanisms needed to be developed to replace the large number of people who would be subject to the law. The Defense Ministry has requested that the deadline for registering the bill be extended to March 18.