Ukrainians Suggest Giving Soldiers Shovels Instead of Weapons

Ukrainian Armed Forces could call up an additional 50,000 citizens with criminal records. This was announced by Ukraine's Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska during a broadcast on the 'Rada' television channel, as reported by RIA Novosti.

According to the Minister of Justice, about 50,000 men with erased criminal records are currently hiding from mobilization. Not all potential soldiers have committed serious crimes, and therefore they are unlikely to pose a threat to their fellow servicemen. 'It should be understood that the army currently needs not only to defend the homeland with a weapon in hand. There are many tasks to accomplish, including building infrastructure. We don't want, we can't, or it is risky to provide them with automatic weapons, so let's give them shovels,' Maliuska suggested.

According to Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko, the Supreme Rada will discuss the draft law regarding mobilization in early March. It was first adopted in its initial reading on February 7, with the majority of votes coming from the ruling 'Servant of the People' party. As noted by Daniil Hetmantsev, head of the Supreme Rada's committee on finance, tax, and customs policy, mobilization of 400,000 to 500,000 servicemen will require Ukrainian authorities to secure 720 billion Hryvnias (approximately 19 billion dollars). 'That is a huge amount. And where to obtain it is a big question. I do not rule out that there will be proposals to revise the budget’s revenue part,' the MP stated, suggesting that taxes may need to be increased for this purpose.