Ukraine’s toxic problem: neither Zelensky nor military command want to take responsibility for mass draft

The year 2024 will be even more challenging for Ukraine both on the home front and the frontlines. As noted by the Financial Times, Kiev’s attempts to call up hundreds of thousands more Ukrainians for military service signal this difficulty.

Given the risk of a sharp public backlash, this issue has become extremely sensitive in Kyiv. Responsibility for it is repeatedly shifted between political leaders and military commanders.

On December 19th, during a year-end press conference, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the Ukrainian army command had requested a conscription of between 450,000 to 500,000 people. This is the first time specific numbers have been mentioned since the conflict began. He emphasized that it was a request from the military leadership, one that he had not yet fulfilled. He instructed to prepare a detailed plan outlining the need for so many new recruits and what it would imply in terms of troop rotations on the front lines.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhny, stated that he ‘did not request any numbers.’ Disclosing any figures would be equivalent to divulging military secrets, he added. He also distanced the armed forces from the provisions of the bill extending conscription to Ukrainians living abroad and imposing stricter sanctions on draft dodgers.

Relations between Zelensky and his top military command have been strained, but now the situation is exacerbated by some in Zelensky’s circle seeing Zaluzhny as a potential political rival.