‘Mobilization of men over 50 is prohibited.’ New rules allow forced conscription only for men aged 25-49

Forced mobilization can only apply to men aged 25-49.

Member of Parliament Oleksii Honcharenko writes that this is specified in Directive 116/2/1/21409 from the Ground Forces Command dated September 19, 2024, which has already reached the territorial recruitment centers but has not been published.

He claims that, according to this document, men under the age of 25 (including those deemed fit for limited service) can only be mobilized with their written consent. Men over the age of 50 can only be mobilized under a separate mobilization order.

“A separate mobilization order means that such an order has been issued by the General Staff for a specific man, with all relevant details included, which must be presented to this man. Therefore, the mass mobilization of men aged 50-60 is prohibited,” Honcharenko wrote.

It should be recalled that previously, men under 25 who were deemed fit for limited service due to health issues were subject to conscription (while healthy men begin conscription from the age of 25), had completed compulsory military service, or had finished military training at university.

The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) is currently considering a separate bill to ban the mobilization of men under 25 at the legislative level.