Students and relatives of people with disabilities: Ukrainian parliament wants to expand the circle of individuals subject to mobilization

The proposal in the Ukrainian Parliament suggests revoking deferment from conscription for students pursuing their second or third higher education degrees, as well as spouses of disabled individuals and their non-first-degree relatives.

The corresponding bill is being prepared for registration, as mentioned by Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezuhla in her Facebook post.

Regarding the relatives of disabled individuals, she mentioned:

“The circle of citizens entitled to deferment for caring for a person with disabilities of Groups I and II or those in constant need of care will be reduced to first-degree family members, eliminating the possibility of avoiding conscription during mobilization by falsely claiming care for those in need.

Currently, the right to deferment from mobilization is granted to individuals who provide constant care for the parents of their spouse (husband/wife), but the proposed changes intend to limit this right only to those caring for their own parents.

Conscripts with a spouse from the category of individuals with a disability of Group III will also lose the right to deferment. The circle of individuals entitled to deferment for caring for a person with disabilities of Groups I and II, or a person identified as needing constant care through a medical-social examination, will be reduced to first-degree family members (parents and parents of the husband/wife, children, children of the spouse, including adopted ones).”

Regarding students, Bezuhla’s statement is as follows:

“The proposed changes aim to prevent the avoidance of conscription by obtaining a second, third, or higher education.”

It’s worth noting that in September of this year, the Minister of Education of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyi, supported abolishing the deferment from conscription for applicants pursuing a second higher education degree. According to his data, in 2022, Ukrainian universities admitted 55,000 more men over 25 years old compared to 2021 and 33,000 more master’s degree students.