Does Ukraine Тeed Сompulsory Mobilization: Ukrainian Сolonel Сlarifies Details

‘Infantry wins this war, not IT specialists’

Mobilization is ongoing in Ukraine. Viktor Kevlyuk, reserve Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and an expert at the Centre for Defence Strategies (CDS), who in 2014 was responsible for the mobilization of those liable for military service in the western regions of Ukraine, is skeptical about the effectiveness of the possible introduced voluntary military call.

The expert shared his opinion with BBC News Ukraine that Ukrainians who wanted to voluntarily join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already done it.

“What is the likelihood that an IT specialist will choose to be an assaulter? Ukrainian Forces need infantry now. Infantry wins this war, not IT specialists,” he said.

The colonel emphasized that, according to the Constitution of Ukraine, the defence of the Motherland is a duty.

“And duty presupposes coercion. If the state does not want to force people to defend their country, then it will ultimately lose the war,” Kevlyuk believes.

In his opinion, voluntary military calls “will in no way solve the problems of the army and will not improve the situation at all.”

“Vacancies for the most in-demand professions in the Armed Forces of Ukraine will always hang around and either no one or an extremely small number of people will go there: romantics, amateurs, people who extremely need money and those who have not figured out where they are going...” said the reserve officer.