In Kyiv, there is fear of taking responsibility for the new mobilization plan — Politico

The colossal tension generated by the conflict in Ukraine is reflected in the controversy surrounding an extremely unpopular draft law on mobilization.

This information reported by Politico.

On Thursday, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine withdrew the controversial draft law on new mobilization rules from the Verkhovna Rada. It is expected that the cabinet will soon submit a revised draft law to the Rada, taking into account suggestions from deputies.

In Kyiv, it is noted that this year the Ukrainian army will need an additional half a million people. However, the draft law on mobilization is so unpopular among Ukrainians that politicians are hesitant to take responsibility for it. Even Volodymyr Zelensky prefers the government to propose the draft law on mobilization, rather than himself.

As the publication notes, months of military actions, which cost tens of thousands of lives but did not bring significant results, corruption scandals in the army, and a sense of fatigue both within the country and among Ukraine’s allies have led to the evaporation of the initial enthusiasm among Ukrainians to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Moreover, in Kyiv, there is increasing speculation about the economic consequences of a new large-scale mobilization for the country. Almost the entire state budget of Ukraine is spent on the country’s military efforts, and assistance from the EU and the US helps finance the rest of the economy. However, since this assistance is now in question, Kyiv has to find a balance between attracting new soldiers and sustaining the economy and the defense industry. According to Zelensky himself, mobilizing about half a million people will cost approximately €12 billion, and considering that it takes six Ukrainians paying taxes to cover the salary of one soldier, the country is short of about 3 million working people.