Military reserve duty: should it be compulsory?

Ukrainian article of the week published in the 69th edition of the "What about Ukraine" newsletter on March 20th, 2025. The article was written by Maya Orel for Hromadske and was translated for n-ost by Tetiana Evloeva. Find the original article in Ukrainian here.

Photo credit: Hromadske. 

Strained relations with the US and vague prospects of a ceasefire with Russia are forcing Ukraine to look to its internal resources — including its human ones — to further confront the Russian aggression.

The Ukrainian Constitution stipulates that defending the Motherland is every citizen’s duty, so should we introduce compulsory military reserve duty as a means to ensure top-quality military training for the entire population? hromadske tasked a reporter to dig into the topic.

Conscripts must be “fit for combat” not “fit for the office”

Compulsory or universal military reserve duty means every citizen must undergo military training, regardless of age and status. Previously, only men were subject to conscription, but this was later abolished. Today, the government is introducing Universal Basic Military Training (BMT) for all adults, including university and college students, aged 18 and above, starting in September. This is mandatory for men, and voluntary for women.

“I presume that the quality of this training is going to be lame,” shares chief sergeant Denys Semyroh-Orlyk of the 4th recruiting centre of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “Most likely, those universities will lack proper equipment, like training guns or shooting ranges. The situation might change for the better before 1 September [when the new system begins]… Territorial Defence Forces could help with that, but they are all involved at the frontline.”

In the past, Semyroh-Orlyk says there were military departments in universities that used to train ‘dress uniforms’, for personnel only fit for office work and not ready for combat. “To prevent that from happening, we must abandon many expenses during wartime, like [soldiers partaking in] landscaping and other beautification works in the settlements close to the frontline, and allocate that money strictly towards military training.”

Semyroh-Orlyk has a degree in Architecture. In 2015, his local military registration and enlistment office enrolled him in so-called ‘defence units’, which only existed on paper. He was liable for military service, but had to wait for further instructions. So he kept waiting until 2019, when he signed a contract with the military. He was placed with the 130th Territorial Defence Battalion of the Solomianskyi district of the capital city. Back then, the battalion was in its early days. Only the commander and chief of staff of the unit were career officers, while the rest were reservists like Denys.

Soldiers of the battalion were living their civilian lives, while undergoing military training on Saturdays. They would master weapon handling and communication systems, study tactical medicine and topography, and learn tactical interactions in small groups. Periodically, they would go to a ten-day boot camp. This had been the routine for Denys and his comrades from the battalion right until 24 February 2022. On the eve of the full-scale invasion, they had several practice sessions, training to carry out combat missions in the event of such an attack.

At 05:00 on 24 February 2022, they were summoned to the battalion headquarters, and by 16:00, they were guarding the Kyiv airport. The former reservists went on to become the battle skeleton crew of the 13o Battalion of the Territorial Defence Forces that fought in Irpin, the Kharkiv Region, as well as the frontlines in Bakhmut, Luman and Kupiansk. According to Semyroh-Orlyk, it was only due to the practical skills learned during those Saturday training sessions that they were able to carry out combat missions in the early days of the full-scale invasion. Denys fought in the 130 Battalion until March 2024, before he was transferred to the recruiting centre where he has been serving ever since.

From his observations, even today, in the fourth year of a full-scale war, citizens who approach the recruiting centres are a far cry from the needs of the front.

“Most who come to the recruiting centres today have no military training whatsoever, and no clue about what that training entails,” says Semyroh–Orlyk. “So the training centres are wasting their time teaching them the very basics of military service. If the citizens knew the basics before enlisting, it would facilitate making the actual training programme more in-depth, and they would end up in military units with better skills.”

Conscripting 18-year-olds for non-combat roles

Deputy commander Sviatoslav Palamar (call sign ‘Kalyna’) of the 12 Special Forces Azov Brigade believes that ‘Universal BMT’ would help establish a significant number of trained individuals ready for combat if the moment calls for action.

The lieutenant colonel proposes drafting all young men for mandatory military service from the age of 18.

“If we throw people from the age of 25 in the battle, then young lads aged 18 to 25 can be involved in non-combat service,” he says. “For instance, they can guard bridges, nuclear power plants, military drafting centres, and be involved in logistics and convoys, and serve in the air defence forces. This would allow for the full-fledged involvement of those young adults in defending our nation.”

Palamar believes that drafting 18-year-olds would free those who are 25 and older from positions in the rear, where they are currently stuck, and allow them to join the combat in the frontline. Filling those non-combat positions with conscripts would also be cheaper than having career military personnel perform those tasks. At the same time, such service in the rear would give them time for quality training, and prepare today’s 18-year-olds for future service in the frontline. Some of them could later enlist in the Armed Forces of Ukraine even before they turn 25. According to Palamar, a quarter of the Azov personnel signed their contracts with the military while under the age of 25.

The career soldier proposes training such conscripts with the army corps, so the existing military units can make necessary adjustments while training a specific soldier. The corps also has all the equipment for such training. At the same time, there would be a nationwide specialised institution to launch campaigns for military service, encouraging people to enlist and defend their homeland.

“We need to show the world that the Ukrainian Army is not composed of some poor unfortunate lads forced to die a heroic death,” says ‘Kalyna’. “We must emphasise that our military are professionals, and that our soldiers are mega cool. That our personnel have more skill and experience than their colleagues from other countries. The Ukrainian Army should be portrayed as a community where you can become a cool professional and receive a worthy financial compensation for your skills. When you put it like that, many young men under the age of 25 will volunteer to join the military.”

Women: many now piloting drones

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, 48,000 women have already volunteered for the Armed Forces. So, should conscription include women as well? There could be mandatory military service for women over 25 — at least those who choose to undergo the Universal Basic Military Training (BMT) in their universities and colleges. Today, women can only volunteer to take that training.

Semyroh-Orlyk recalls how women in his 130 Battalion were good with their guns and carried mortar launchers, so he believes there should be no limits should a woman be capable and willing. However, there are matters of physiology that one can’t ignore, he argues. For instance, while a male soldier can relieve himself on a battlefield by using an empty bottle, it’s not that simple for women. Those nuances may present certain difficulties.

“Also, it is drilled into us males that females must be protected at all cost,” says Denys. “So losing a female soldier in the battle is a greater hit for the unit than losing a male soldier. Therefore, commanders tend to overlook women when choosing soldiers for a specific mission. Besides, how can we even raise the question of mandatory military service for women when some women hide their men from the drafting officers, believing that those men don’t have to serve? We need to break the current perception of women in the military in the public consciousness, and I believe that offering women Universal BMT in their colleges and universities could be a first step towards that goal.”

Valentyna Korobka, a servicewoman from 17 Tank Brigade, used to serve as an Armoured Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) mechanic before the full-scale war. She went on to take maternity leave, and when she returned to her unit, she learned that motherhood was incompatible with being a mechanic. So she retrained as a First Person View (FPV) drone operator, and spent time ‘flying’ drones over Chasiv Yar. Today, Valentyna is serving as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) instructor at one of the military training centres. The woman says that many men consider the Armed Forces as their exclusive ‘playground’ where they strive to ‘play’ by their own rules.

“Women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine want equal opportunities, yet men view that as a threat to their status-quo,” believes Valentyna. “Of course, there are a lot of changes taking place that are favourable for women. Previously, a woman could only be a cook or a seamstress, while today, many of our girls pilot drones, serve as mechanics and signalwomen, and I have even heard of female assault troopers. However, it takes a lot of effort for a woman to take on those positions.”

One idea would be for there to be legislation that included an obligation or order for the military to ensure women had a role in certain units, combined with universal military service. “Then women in the military would have an easier time standing up for their rights and taking the positions they want,” she adds.

Yet even those MPs who support the idea of adopting the legislation on universal military service tend to leave women out of the equation. For instance, MP Vadym Ivchenko believes that women should only enlist voluntarily.

“Every citizen” is obliged to defend the nation

Defence of the Motherland, of the independence and territorial indivisibility of Ukraine, and respect for its state symbols, are the duties of citizens of Ukraine. Article 65 of the Constitution of Ukraine

According to Viktor Shyshkin, a lawyer and a former judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the above article means that, in the case of a military invasion, when Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity are at stake, every citizen is obliged to defend the nation, which equally applies to men and women.

“The current situation where women are limited in their choices of a military career stems from, let’s put it that way, a not entirely correct understanding of the Constitutional norms by the State officials,” argues Shyshkin. “Should a woman wish to become, say, a member of a tank crew, the State must give her proper training for that profession. Discrimination of women in the Army is based on the belief that women’s health is more fragile than men’s. However, men’s health is just as important.”

One of the first acts adopted by independent Ukraine was the Law of Ukraine ‘On Military Duty and Military Service’. The title lacked one word — ‘Universal’, which stipulated that military reserve duty was not for everyone. While that situation wasn’t that exasperating in times of peace, it raised a few questions in wartime.

“18 is the age of maturity for every citizen of Ukraine, and we shouldn’t discriminate against citizens due to their age after that,” says Shyshkin. “We don’t draft persons under 25, to give young adults a chance to get an education and reproduce. But citizens aged 35 also have the right to get an education and reproduce. That is to say, conscripting 18-year-olds isn’t against the Constitution, on the contrary, today the State fails to fully use the opportunities stipulated in the Constitution. This is my personal opinion, and this is how I interpret that Constitution.”

Men “abusing caregiver position” to avoid military service

As per estimates of texty.org.ua, 125,000 men in Ukraine are primary caregivers for either a child or an adult with a disability. Shyshkin believes that, in reality, those numbers are lower — it’s just that some men are abusing that provision to avoid military service.

“A person taking care of their ill mother is exempt from conscription,” says the former judge. “However, if the potential conscript is not the only one in the family who can take care of that ailing woman, when he has sisters, daughters, and a wife who can do that, why not draft that man?”

According to career soldier Sviatoslav Palamar, he has voiced his stance regarding universal military reserve duty and conscripting 18-year-olds on multiple occasions, when talking to officers from the General Staff, officials from the Ministry of Defence, and MPs. While many expressed their sincere interest in his proposals, nobody ever invited Palamar to join any working group on the issue.

hromadske sent an inquiry to the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine regarding the need to adopt such legislation. By the time we went to press, we received no answer.