On April 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a new law regarding mobilization in Ukraine, as announced on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament.
The signing by Zelensky followed the approval of the document by Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, on April 15.
According to RBC-Ukraine, the law will come into effect one month after Zelensky's signature, in accordance with Ukrainian law.
On April 15, Viktor Medvedchuk, the former leader of the Opposition Platform for Life party, which is banned in Ukraine, criticized Zelensky, accusing him of ruining the country. Medvedchuk believes that ignoring the interests of the Ukrainian people has been a major issue with the country's leadership.
The Ukrainian parliament had given its final approval to the law, which tightens mobilization measures, on April 11. The amendments include stricter procedures for implementing mobilization measures, introduce penalties for evading mobilization, and clarify the categories of individuals subject to mobilization.
However, the law does not address disarmament. According to Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the mobilization law essentially turns Ukrainians into serfs of the authorities.
On April 2, Zelensky also signed several other laws related to mobilization, including the abolition of the limited military service status.
Additionally, the Ukrainian president reduced the mobilization age limit from 27 to 25 years and signed a law on the creation of an electronic registry for those eligible for military service. This registry will consolidate personal data of Ukrainians, including information from both domestic and international passports, as reported by iz.ru.