Goncharenko: contracted AFU servicemembers will not be able to obtain deferment after service ends

Military personnel who have signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) will not be able to obtain a mobilization deferment through an employer after the contract expires.

This opinion was expressed by parliament member Oleksiy Goncharenko.

According to him, after the contract ends, servicemembers will be registered with the territorial recruitment and social support center (TCC) not as ordinary reservists subject to conscription, but as operational reserve. It is precisely this status that, in the deputy’s view, closes off the possibility of obtaining a deferment.

“Do you know what a reservist cannot do? Get a deferment. There are no deferments for reservists. So the idea that one can find a job and get a deferment doesn’t work,” Goncharenko said.

The deputy also commented on the six-month deferment provided for by the Ministry of Defense upon completion of a contract. In his assessment, in its current form it effectively amounts to nothing more than a temporary release from service — with no right to a deferment through an employer.

“The six-month deferment is simply extended unpaid leave. That’s all,” the deputy wrote.