KYIV -- Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has passed a law on military mobilization that will boost the number of its troops, two lawmakers reported, as the country struggles with depleted forces in the face of the more than 2-year-old Russian invasion.
The law expands the powers of Ukrainian authorities to issue draft notices, including through an electronic system, a change that is expected to help limit evasion.
The measure was passed with 283 votes in favor in the 450-member parliament early on April 11, lawmakers Yaroslav Zheleznyak from the Voice faction and Oleksiy Honcharenko from the European Solidarity faction reported.
A provision on the demobilization of those currently serving in the armed forces was scrapped from the law -- a move likely to be met with anger by Ukrainian troops and their families.
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New Mobilization Law Draws Mixed Reaction From War-Weary Ukrainians
Fedir Venislavskiy, a lawmaker from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's faction in parliament, said the main goal of the draft law is to register all conscripts and update their data so that the state clearly understands who can be mobilized, who has the right to postpone entering the draft, and who can enter the reserves.
One of its provisions requires men between the ages of 18 and 60 to update their personal information within 60 days with the military or with the civil administrative services responsible for conscription.
Since a major Ukrainian counteroffensive last year failed to make significant gains, Russia has used its significant advantage in manpower and equipment to erode those gains in the east.
General Yuriy Sodol, who commands the troops in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, stressed the need for more troops, telling lawmakers that Russian forces outnumber Kyiv's troops up 10 times on the battlefield in the east.
"We are maintaining our defenses with our last strength," he said as lawmakers stood up and applauded more than a dozen commanders who attended the session.
"The enemy outnumbers us by seven to 10 times, we lack manpower," Sodol said.
Former army commander in chief Valeriy Zaluzhniy said in February that Ukraine needed up to 500,000 new recruits this year to strengthen forces, replace expected losses, and demobilize those who have served for years.
Zelenskiy had resisted the request amid concern over public backlash.