The new draft law changes Ukraine's conscription age from 27 to 25, abolishes the "limited fitness" classification for recruits and obligates those who had been considered limitedly fit for military service to undergo a medical examination again within nine months. Under the new law, the nation's Defense Ministry will also receive data on Ukrainians liable for military service without their consent as part of a vast electronic database.
The measures are very unpopular with Ukrainians and the timing of Zelensky's decision to sign the law is remarkable, according to Alexander Dudchak, a leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries and the Other Ukraine movement expert.
Last month, Graham visited Kiev to discuss the provision of aid and urged Zelensky to widen the field for mobilization and present the West's demands.
"Even lowering the draft age to 25 is not the limit and [Ukraine] must lower it further [according to the West]. But, in general, almost all the demands of the West were met," Dudchak continued.
In addition, the Ukrainian leadership voiced plans to introduce universal military training for men and
women in 2025 who have received medical education, starting from the age of 25.
The electronic database of potential Ukrainian recruits, authorized by Zelensky, would create nothing short of a digital portrait of a potential fighter, Dudchak continued. According to Sputnik's interlocutor, the new database would allow the Defense Ministry to track an individual by cameras.
"A database will be collected showing how many people have been left on the territory of Ukraine," the researcher explained. "Judging from the census of the male population, one can imagine what mobilization potential the Armed Forces of Ukraine is, and how many people remain on the territory of Ukraine. After that some unpleasant facts for Zelensky may emerge. While he’s telling everyone that there are more than 31 million people in the territory under his control, in reality the figure is about 18-19 million."
One needs to bear in mind that Zelensky requests money from the West citing the figure of 30 million, noted Dudchak. The question is where the Western money goes, he pointed out, suggesting that those providing funds could be well aware of this disparity and benefit together with the Ukrainian president from the alleged corruption scheme.
Dudchak ruled out the possibility that Zelensky and his new commander-in-chief would be able to amass a considerable military force with the help of the new legislation.
"In total there are about 3.5 million people [in Ukraine]
who can be mobilized. But this does not mean that it can be done," the expert said, adding that conscripting even 500,000 is unrealistic. Apparently, the Kiev regime understands this: most recently Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky claimed that Ukraine may accomplish its military tasks with a smaller contingent.
However, one shouldn't expect a mass uprising in Ukraine after the law comes into force, continued the researcher. According to him, even if turmoil erupts, including a potential military coup, that would mean the unrest is initiated and directed from outside of Ukraine.
"This [potential uprising] will be orchestrated by British or American intelligence services, depending on what tasks will be assigned and who will benefit from it," Dudchak said. "An organized uprising is impossible without the consent of London or Washington."