Not all students will receive a deferment: who will be mobilized in the fall.

Ukraine is mobilizing students in accordance with the law number 10449. Most students who are pursuing their first higher education receive a deferment from conscription. However, there are exceptions when a student may be called up. Glavcom has learned the current information on the mobilization of students in 2024.

Who is eligible for a deferment

Students of conscription age are allowed to get a deferment from service if they are pursuing their first higher education on a full-Time or part-time basis. Assistant interns, postgraduates, and doctoral students are also not conscripted. The mode of study, whether it is budgetary or contractual, does not affect the right to deferment.

After admission, to confirm the right to deferment, students need to provide a certificate from the dean's office to the territorial recruitment center. Without this document, the draft board cannot extend the deferment to the next academic year.

Teachers with academic degrees are exempt from mobilization. Also, scientific and pedagogical workers in universities, colleges, technical schools, and research institutions are exempt from mobilization. Vocational school teachers can get a deferment if they work at the main place of employment for at least 0.75 rate.

Who can be mobilized

Some students lose the right to deferment. Students who can receive a summons include those who:

• study in the evening or correspondence form;
• pursue a second higher education;
• acquire a level of education lower than the one they already have;
• refuse to undergo basic military training (in this case, they are expelled from the university).

A student who successfully moves to the next course during the vacation retains the deferment. However, if during the admission campaign he moves to a higher level of education, he may be called up during the break between semesters, as he is temporarily not a student.

Mobilization in 2025

In 2025, mobilization in Ukraine will continue during the state of war due to hostilities in the east and south of the country. Mobilization will be carried out in accordance with applicable legislation, including laws on mobilization training and military duty.

The main provisions of mobilization include:

• Conscription of men aged 18 to 60 who are fit for military service. Women with military specialties can also be mobilized, including doctors, communication specialists, and cybersecurity experts.
• Deferments can be granted under certain circumstances, such as students, teachers, parents of multiple children, caregivers, or workers in critically important economic sectors.
• Privileges and exemptions remain for citizens working in educational and scientific institutions, medical facilities, or having valid reasons for exemption from mobilization.

The expansion of training for reserve servicemen and increased attention to the general military training of the civilian population play an important role. The government emphasizes enhancing the country's defense capability, developing territorial defense, and modernizing the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the support of international partners.

The National Security, Defense, and Intelligence Committee of the Parliament expressed the opinion that 'the mobilization age in Ukraine should be 20 years'.

It was also announced that civil servants in Ukraine should also be mobilized.

The former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and current Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom stated that he does not support the mobilization of young people aged 18 to 25 years.