Shmyhal believes that Ukraine does not need to mobilize 500,000 people to the Armed Forces

Denys Shmyhal. Photo: Cabinet of Ministers

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that there is currently no need to mobilize 500,000 people into the Armed Forces in Ukraine.

He said this in an interview with Bloomberg.

According to Denys Shmyhal, such scale of mobilization is not necessary, taking into account the rotations taking place on the front line and the arrival of weapons.

«We will continue the fight if we receive support from our partners regarding artillery shells, long- and medium-range missiles,» he added.

The updated law on mobilization in Ukraine

On December 19, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, gave a final press conference, where he announced that the General Staff and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny proposed to mobilize up to 400,000-500,000 more people for military operations.

Subsequently, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi commented on the plans to mobilize 500,000 people into the ranks of the Ukrainian army. He said the command did not request specific numbers.

The head of the «Servant of the People» presidential faction, Davyd Arahamiia, said that on December 25, the government was supposed to submit a draft law on mobilization, which he is working on at the request of the military.

On January 4, the Council's Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence began considering a new law on mobilization. The discussion together with the command of the Armed Forces and representatives of the Ministry of Defense will last several days.

On January 11, draft law No. 10378 on improving mobilization, military registration and military service was sent back for revision.

What about the mobilization in Mykolaiv Oblast?

As you know, during the full-scale war, 33,000 residents of the Mykolaiv Oblast were mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces.

The head of the Mykolaiv regional military administration, Vitalii Kim, expressed his belief in the need for mobilization after personal communication with the military, who are currently defending the state. The head of the RMA also added that money should not be the main motivation for protecting the state.

In response to this, Oksana Kaliuzhna, a member of the Mykolaiv Regional Council, reacted negatively to the regional leadership's statement regarding mobilization, comparing the issuing of summonses to evasioners to catching dogs.