Ukraine’s divisive mobilization law comes into force as a new Russian push strains front-line troops | Parami News

KYIV: The law of enlisting in Ukraine has come into force today, making it a divisive one as Kyiv wishes to boost its military capabilities following the latest offensive that Russia is running, with fears that it might outflank Ukraine’s second largest city.

This legislation was diluted from an original draft and will make it easier to ascertain each conscript in the country; this includes giving incentives such as bonuses or money for buying houses or cars, which some observers say are beyond Ukraine’s reach.

The process had been dragged on for months by lawmakers who only passed it sometime in mid-April, after lowering the draft age from 27 years to 25. These measures indicate how more than two years of fighting have already weighed heavily upon Ukrainian forces who strive to hold front lines in a war that has decimated both ranks and armories of the nation.

In addition, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed two other laws yesterday allowing prisoners to join the army and increasing fines for dodging conscription five times. Russian prisoners were brought into their own army early on while lack of troops forced Ukraine into making these changes.

Meanwhile, Russian troops push forward with a ground attack that created a new front in northeastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine further testing Kyiv’s exhausted armed forces. By launching this new offensive after several weeks of probing actions Moscow knew about limitations in personnel suffered by Ukraine as well as about its thin forces deployed against northeast.

Vladimir Putin said during his visit to China last Friday that Russians’ intention was not capturing Kharkiv itself but rather creating “a buffer zone” around it being local capital and second largest population centre in Ukraine.

Nevertheless, over past few weeks Moscow has subjected Kharkiv to bombardment including strikes at civilian infrastructure and energy sector thus prompting angry accusations from Zelenskyy that Russian authorities intended to reduce his city into ashes. In his words three residents died in the bombing, which was carried out by Russian guided missiles. At least 28 more people were injured.

Moscow has rejected allegations of deliberately targeting civilians during the ongoing conflict that resulted into thousands of casualties and injured people.

Last week, the US unveiled an additional $400 million military aid package to Ukraine with President Joe Biden pledging to provide weapons urgently for Ukraine against Russia’s advancements. However, Ukrainian military officers claim only small batches of U.S. military support have trickled onto the front line so far; they say it will take at least two months before supplies are good enough for Kyiv to hold the line.

Since Russia launched its all-out attack on February 2022, several thousand Ukrainians have fled their country to avoid being conscripted, some even attempting to swim across a river separating Ukraine from neighboring Romania and Hungary.

Late last night, Ukraine’s border service announced that over thirty people were reported dead last month while trying to cross Tisza River following what amounts to a full-scale invasion.Romanian border guards pulled from the Tisza River a near-naked body of a man who appeared like he had been floating there for days and is at least the thirtieth known victim according to an online statement from Ukrainian agency which added that his identity was not yet confirmed.