Ukrainians have begun to be denied draft deferments en masse due to their inclusion in the operational reserve

Many Ukrainian citizens have begun to be denied deferment from mobilization because they have been entered into the operational reserve, something they discover through the Reserve+ app. According to reports, this has become a widespread phenomenon.

Lawyer Tetiana Potapova spoke about it in a video address.

According to her, over the past few days she has received a flood of appeals about problems with deferment. Potapova said she hopes this is an error, but also allowed for the possibility of unlawful interference.

“Yes, indeed, it is impossible to reserve a reservist under the general standard procedure, because the Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution does not provide for that. There are many such appeals. I want to believe that this is really a Reserve+ error and not intentional interference in the system and unlawful actions, when citizens liable for military service are assigned to the operational reserve where this is not provided for at all,” Potapova said.

Lawyer Maryna Bekalo explained that people are entered into the operational reserve if they have military or combat experience, have completed basic combined-arms training, and possess the relevant military specialty. Men aged 45 to 60, who may legally be called upon to strengthen the territorial defense forces, can also fall into this category.

As the lawyer added, having the status of “operational reserve” means that the state considers such citizens a priority resource for staffing the armed forces.