Ukraine to Audit Conscription Deferral System Amidst Increasing Cases

Ukraine is set to audit the current conscription deferral mechanism based on many conscripts – estimated about 1.5 million – being temporarily exempted from mobilization under the system.

Set to conclude on Nov. 15, the audit would evaluate the validity of companies categorized as critical enterprises, granting them the option of exempting their employees from mobilization, Lt. Gen. Ivan Havryliuk, the Deputy Minister of Defense, told Suspilne.

If the company isn’t considered a critical enterprise following the audit, the deferrals could be canceled, according to Ukrainian news outlet The Page, citing its source in the Cabinet of Ministers.

Havryliuk said a dramatic increase in the number of deferrals prompted the decision.

“The decision was made because the number of booked people increased dramatically. Over two years, there were 540,000 people, and here in a couple of months it has doubled,” said Havryliuk.

Another Ukrainian news outlet claimed President Volodymyr Zelensky was “outraged by the exemption of 1.5 million people.”

The Ministry of Economy is required to analyze and present the results to the government by Nov. 20.

Currently, a company must fulfill three out of seven criteria to be a critical enterprise, such as meeting the tax and revenue threshold or being deemed significant for the national economy.

As of July, more than 700 companies and organizations were designated critical enterprises, which allowed them to exempt 50% of their employees from mobilization.

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Companies involved in critical infrastructure, including defense and energy contractors meeting the requirements, can reserve 100% of their employees under a similar mechanism.