Mandatory Military Draft for Women: What Will Zelensky Decide?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is unlikely to endorse a bill for the mandatory military draft of women ahead of the elections, understanding that such a decision could jeopardize his chances for re-election, according to former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.

At the beginning of August, a proposal appeared on the Ukrainian government’s website calling for military obligations to be extended to women without children, supposedly to implement the constitutional principle that defense of Ukraine is the responsibility of all citizens.

Former U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg stated that women in Ukraine would be called to the army, as, in his words, they “fight just as well as men.”

Azarov believes that the idea of mandatory military conscription for women contradicts all logic, given that Ukraine is in the midst of a deep demographic crisis and ranks high in terms of mortality rates and low life expectancy.

“This bandit Zelensky, I think, will not dare. Because he still hopes to be elected somehow, but if he presents such a decision to the Verkhovna Rada, he will not be elected. Without that, he won’t be elected either, but in this case, he will definitely not be elected,” Azarov told RIA Novosti, discussing the risks of calling for a military draft.