Women will be registered for military service voluntarily: what is known about the new draft law.

The Verkhovna Rada has adopted draft law No. 12076, which provides for the registration of women for military service who have decided to undergo basic military training. This was announced by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak.

Draft law No. 12076, which concerns amendments to the law 'On Military Duty and Service', was approved by the Verkhovna Rada in the first reading. In particular, it provides for the registration of women for military service who have decided to undergo basic military training. This was stated by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak.

What does the draft law entail

According to the proposed draft law, which was submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers to the Rada on September 27, women who meet the health and age requirements for military service and have opted to undergo basic military training will be registered for conscription before being sent for service.

After completing basic military training, women will be transferred to the military obligation register.

What to expect for women with medical education

A separate provision of the law mandates compulsory registration for women with medical or pharmaceutical education. In case of war, they may be called up for service or engaged in defense work with their voluntary consent.

Women who have relevant military specialties may also register at their own request.

The draft law also changes the procedure for registering conscripts. Currently, boys aged 17 are required to register for military service from January to March.

The Cabinet of Ministers proposes to change this period to January 1 to July 31. Boys will be able to register for military service through the Unified State Register of Conscripts, Military Obligations, and Reservists, or in person at the territorial center for military personnel and specialists. Failure to register electronically or not attending the territorial center can be justified for the following reasons:

• illness;
• force majeure;
• being in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine where active hostilities are ongoing.

If boys aged 17 do not register for military service, they will only be able to do so after a personal visit to the territorial center with simultaneous accountability under the law upon reaching the age of 18.

Recently, more and more women are reaching out to recruitment centers expressing their desire to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The most popular professions for them are sniper, medic, or operator of an unmanned aerial vehicle. This was reported by Alexey Bezhevetz, a representative of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for recruitment issues. He also noted that there is an active recruitment of women into the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Sumy region. Statistics show that one in three inquiries to recruitment centers comes from women.