Days after acting Defense Minister Mykhailo Koval warned "the Armed Forces are not ready for this," Ukraine has announced the return of military conscription. After Mr Turchynov admitted his security forces were 'helpless' to quash the pro-Moscow insurgency that has tightened its grip on the increasingly chaotic east of the country, Koval believes "if there were conscripts in military units, then the situation might be different." Of course, this is exactly what the IMF 'demanded' as yet more cities in the East fall to pro-Russian separatists. We can only imagine how pro-Russian 20-23 year old men will feel when they get their call-up papers to fight... against themselves.
As NRCU reports,
The Armed Forces of Ukraine could return military conscription, acting Defense Minister Mykhailo Koval has stated. "The army will be professional - this is the future of the Armed Forces. But now the Armed Forces are not ready for this. Therefore we might have to return 21-23-years-old men for a while, and they will serve the state," he told reporters in Kyiv on April 26.
According to Koval, the reckless policy of transition to contract service showed its negative sides, in particular, in Crimea. "If there were conscripts in military units, then the situation might be different," the minister said.In addition, the minister said the Armed Forces of Ukraine have not created a good base for training and life-support of contract soldiers.
And then today, The Daily Mail confirms...
Embattled Ukraine today announced it was bringing back conscription as a mob of some 300 pro-Russian militants seized control of the prosecutor's office in Donetsk after overrunning police.
Coming on the heels of this...
But Mr Turchynov admitted his security forces were 'helpless' to quash the pro-Moscow insurgency that has tightened its grip on the increasingly chaotic east of the country.
And the previous details of the conscription plan...
The Ukrainian parliament has adopted a resolution recommending that acting President Oleksandr Turchynov resume mandatory drafting of conscripts into the country's army.
The resolution "on additional measures for strengthening Ukraine's defense capability in connection with Russia's aggression against Ukraine" was adopted on April 17.
Kyiv announced the last mandatory drafting of conscripts into the Ukrainian Army in October, saying that by the end of 2014 the Ukrainian armed forces would be comprised of professional soldiers only.
Ukraine -- which currently has the fifth-largest army in Europe, with 180,000 soldiers -- planned to decrease the total to 122,000 soldiers by 2017.
According to the old law, all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 27 must serve for one year in the national army or for 18 months in the Ukrainian Navy.