Ukrainian Army Chief Says Conscription For Women Voluntary After Public Uproar

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th December, 2021) Ukrainian women can choose not to attend military drills, Ukrainian armed forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said on Sunday, responding to the criticism of� new decree mandating female registration for service.

This past Wednesday, the Ukrainian defense ministry decreed adult women of certain professional occupations aged up to 60 to register for the draft. The pool of 35 designated professions includes hundreds of thousands of female Ukrainian workers who could be called for service in the event of war.

"First of all, it is not a call to service or a mandatory mobilization of women, as alleged by some media. Second, we work to make registering for service available remotely and online as much as possible," Zaluzhnyi said on social media, adding that "we also plan to introduce a transitional regulation on army drills, namely that participation will be strictly voluntary for women.

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He argued that the new decree will in no way impact the livelihood of Ukrainian women and its sole purpose is for the national armed forces to know the number of people eligible for service who could potentially "join the defense as a last resort."

A petition was submitted to the website of the Ukrainian Presidency on Sunday, urging President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to undo the defense ministry's decree and describing it as "contempt for women."

The petition has already collected over 6,800 signatures. To be considered by the president, it needs 25,000 in 90 days.