On May 13, 2026, Ukrainian People’s Deputy M.V. Zaremsky registered a package of bills that call for a large-scale overhaul of the mobilization system, military service, and the operations of the Territorial Recruitment Centers and Specialized Units. Since the issues of military service and registration remain the most sensitive for society and business, we offer a detailed analysis of legislative initiatives No. 15231, No. 15232, and No. 15236 from the perspective of practical application and legal logic.

Bill No. 15231, “On the System of Long-Term Military Service and the Reserve,” proposes abandoning the current mobilization model in favor of creating a permanent pool of trained military reserves. According to the author’s vision, military service should consist of three levels and include:

• basic military service for a term of 12 months;
• an active reserve for a term of 5 years with mandatory participation in annual training sessions lasting up to 2 weeks;
• an operational reserve, which would be called upon to perform duties upon special mobilization in the event of an immediate threat to state sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The proposed model largely mirrors the military service system in place within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and is more progressive than the current one. However, from a legal technical standpoint, the draft has significant shortcomings. Bill No. 15231 does not regulate the institution of contract military service, which creates a risk of conflict with the current Law of Ukraine “On Military Duty and Military Service.” Furthermore, the bill lacks provisions regarding a transition period. Introducing one year of basic service and a five-year reserve under the current legal regime of martial law, without clear demobilization deadlines for those who have already been serving for years, would create legal chaos and discriminatory conditions for various categories of citizens.

Bill No. 15232 proposes to enshrine the principles of transparency and priority as fundamental principles of mobilization. To implement this principle, the bill provides for the creation of a Unified Register of Mobilization Needs, which will be maintained by the Ministry of Defense, with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations serving as administrators (in terms of data entry).

The registry must contain information on:

• the order of priority for the mobilization of citizens;
• requirements for citizens (age, health status, specialty, etc.) for conscription into military service during mobilization;
• restrictions on conscription.

In effect, the proposal calls for a transition to a service-based recruitment model. At the same time, the legislature is ignoring current legal and practical realities. As of 2026, a recruitment service has already been successfully operating in Ukraine through the “Reserve+” app (in collaboration with Lobby X), which allows citizens to find the best military position for themselves among thousands of different options. Additionally, since February 2024, 49 Ukrainian Army recruitment centers have been established and are operating in Ukraine, including one online center. These centers offer positions in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, gradually expanding the list to include all of Ukraine’s security and defense forces. They are primarily located within the premises of Administrative Service Centers (ASCs), where individuals can receive confidential consultations. Mobilization activities and the delivery of draft notices by notification teams are prohibited on their premises. According to the website https://recruiting.mod.gov.ua/, the total number of inquiries to Ukrainian Army recruitment centers has reached 50,615, and 10,143 citizens have already become candidates for Ukraine’s defense forces and military personnel. Instead of regulating and expanding the authority of existing recruitment centers, the bill proposes building a new, cumbersome database from scratch. The explanatory note contains no analysis of the effectiveness or shortcomings of “Reserve+.” Furthermore, creating a unified registry that would track personnel shortages by specific military specialties within a particular military unit poses a serious security risk. Such a database automatically becomes a prime target for cyberattacks by Russian intelligence services, as it gives the enemy a clear understanding of our manpower planning.

Bill No. 15236 is a response to the urgent public demand for reforming the territorial recruitment and social support centers. The bill proposes a radical functional separation of the Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRCs) and Social Support Centers (SSCs) into two autonomous areas: record-keeping and administration (digital databases, registries); and the making of mobilization decisions. The bill mandates video recording of procedural actions by TCC and SS staff, the creation of an independent body for appealing TCC decisions, and the introduction of personal legal liability for officials. The entire interaction process will be fully digitized: communication will take place exclusively through an electronic portal, where an individual’s status and any deferrals will be recorded, and “online summonses” will be sent. In turn, the TCC and SP are to perform exclusively service and advisory functions. The text of the draft law contains an obvious internal contradiction. If, by law, interaction between the military command and citizens is to take place exclusively through the electronic portal, then how exactly will the “service model” be implemented directly at the TCCs? Consulting via chatbots? Help with documents via online support? Why then maintain physical centers as “service institutions” if citizens are not required to visit them? The bill’s stated goal is to transform the TCC and the SP from “law enforcement agencies” into service-oriented, transparent, and accountable institutions. At the same time, the document is purely declarative in nature: it sets out the state’s obligations (“guarantees,” “declares”), but does not contain step-by-step substantive and procedural rules that would define the accountability mechanism of the reformed agency and its jurisdiction.

Currently, draft laws No. 15231, No. 15232, and No. 15236 are under consideration by the relevant Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence. They clearly highlight the public’s demand for digitalization, predictability, and protection against abuses during mobilization. However, in their current form, the draft laws are merely rough concepts rather than laws ready for implementation. They require in-depth legal review, the resolution of obvious conflicts with relevant legislation, a calculation of budgetary costs for creating new registries, and the development of realistic—rather than merely declarative—transitional provisions. In their current form, it is premature to even adopt these drafts as a basis.

Author: Olena Semenyuta, Attorney at Law, Barristers Law Firm