Facing threat from Russia, Ukraine issues order to mobilise reservists; maximum service of one year
Amid heightened Ukraine-Russia tensions, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued an order to mobilise reservists on Wednesday after Russia ordered its forces to prepare to secure rebel-held areas in the country’s east.
As per the new directive, reservists aged 18 to 60 will be called up starting today and will have to serve for a period of one year.
Ukraine’s reserve force of more than 200,000 is comprised mostly of military personnel who served in the first years of the country’s eight-year war with Russian-backed separatists.
‘Failure to appear can lead to administrative and criminal penalties’
Former officers and non-commissioned personnel will serve in military units and according to the specialisation that they had in the past, says the decree signed by the President.
If the reservist, for one reason or another prescribed by law, cannot be called up, they must personally present an explanatory document, reported AFP adding that failure to appear or disregard for the call-up can lead to administrative and criminal penalties.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian foreign ministry has urged the citizens of Ukraine to refrain from travelling to Russia, and for those in that country to leave its territory immediately.
‘Russia open to diplomacy but won’t compromise on its security’
The decision to mobilize reservists was taken after Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, gave President Vladimir Putin unanimous approval to deploy “peacekeepers” to two breakaway Ukrainian regions now recognized by Moscow as independent, and potentially into other parts of Ukraine.
President Putin has said that Russia is open to diplomacy but will always put its own national security interests first and would continue to strengthen its military.
Following this move, Kyiv recalled its top diplomat from Moscow with President Zelensky saying that Putin’s recognition of the breakaway regions was a signal of further military aggression against Ukraine.
In response, the United States and its allies adopted sanctions against Russian banks and billionaires.
