Responsibility for Avoiding Military Exercises to be Tightened

The Ministry of Defense proposes to tighten penalties for avoiding military exercises and clarify the role of the military police in the mobilization process. The relevant draft has been published on the e-draft unified legal act website.

The current legislation does not clearly define the various ways to evade military exercises, making it impossible to fully assess cases of citizens avoiding this process. Due to gaps in the law, some citizens exploit formal reasons to avoid military exercises. Particularly common are cases of self-mutilation, simulation of illnesses, forgery of documents, or other deceptive methods.

The existing legislation establishes relatively lenient responsibilities, which allows evaders to avoid penalties using the aforementioned methods. The current powers of the military police need clarification concerning their involvement in the mobilization process.

Adopting these changes will enable the tightening of regulatory frameworks, increasing the level of accountability and ensuring the comprehensive implementation of the mobilization process. The methods of avoidance will be specified, including failure to appear at the military registration and enlistment office, evasion of health examinations or medical assessments, refusing to participate in military exercises in any other way, and avoiding participation through self-inflicted injuries or illness simulation, as well as through forgery or other forms of deception.

In cases of general avoidance, fines, short-term imprisonment (up to 2 months), or imprisonment (up to 2 years) are foreseen. If the evasion is carried out through self-harm, illness simulation, or document forgery, the penalty could reach 2-5 years of imprisonment. These changes will allow for the tightening of accountability and reduce cases of avoidance regarding mobilization.

The draft proposes an increase in the involvement of military police in the mobilization process to ensure efficient oversight of recruitment and the organization of military exercises. The military police will be authorized to assist military registration offices in delivering notifications to conscripts, compel conscripts to present themselves at military offices or medical examination centers, detect and monitor the movements of those avoiding conscription, and assist in recruiting and registering conscript citizens.

The law will enshrine that the military police will have the right to track down individuals avoiding mobilization conscription, perform necessary actions aimed at locating conscripts and ensuring recruitment, and facilitate the mandatory transfer and escort of conscripts at the request of law enforcement agencies.

These changes will enable the military police to engage more effectively in the mobilization system processes and ensure the comprehensive execution of conscription. It is expected that as a result of these changes, the effectiveness of the mobilization system will increase, with a decrease in the number of evading citizens, and penalties will be tightened, prompting a significant number of those avoiding conscription to reconsider their approaches. The military police will be involved in the process, enhancing control and promoting the applicability of the law.