The Ukraine Crisis Media Center hosted a press conference “Military deferment or military service terms: what does the economy and the military really need?”.
At the beginning, the participants of the event were presented with a brief overview of the draft laws registered in the Verkhovna Rada. One of them provides for a military deferment based on payment of an additional military fee of UAH 20,400. The second draft law provides for a military deferment based on the salary level – over UAH 36,336. The third one provides for a mixed model of military deferment, according to which an employed person will be deferred from military service based on the salary level, and an individual entrepreneur – by paying an additional military fee. There is also a separate draft law, according to which an individual entrepreneur will be able to defer his employees from military service by paying a military fee of UAH 20,400. Another draft law provides for a military deferment of conscripts who work at enterprises that pay a single social security tax of over UAH 40,000 and have more than 10 employees. They will be able to defer about 50% of conscripts and reservists from military service.
According to Valentyna Klymus, co-founder of NGO “Intentsia”, the analysis of draft laws and the forecast of risks arising from military deferment sanctioned by economic entities, gives reason to talk about the probability of aggravation of certain problems in society. In particular, it is about the actual legalization of corruption, the class division of society into the poor and the rich, the displacement of small and medium-sized businesses, the negative impact on the emotional and psychological state and motivation of active military personnel, and the threat to Ukraine’s defense capability.
“When choosing the military deferment criteria, a certain balance must be achieved between the country’s economy and the protection of its sovereignty, and the need to ensure the required number of troops must be taken into account first,” she concluded.
The Government has enough opponents of the proposed military determent conditions. The Ministry of Agrarian Policy states that the digital parameters of the income of an individual entrepreneur during a calendar month are too high for certain regions of the country and the agricultural sector, since the average monthly salary of full-time employees in the agricultural sector of Ukraine is lower than in other sectors of the economy.
The Ministry of Defense does not support the legislative proposals either. They say that with the existing tendency to a decrease in the number and quality of human mobilization resources in the conditions of long-term armed aggression of the Russian Federation, the adoption of the draft law will jeopardize the implementation of measures on the additional staffing of the armed forces of Ukraine and their performance of tasks related to the protection of the state and the restoration of its territorial integrity.
The non-governmental organization “Intentsia” proposes to completely abandon a military deferment in the form in which it is offered now. Instead, it is necessary to improve the business environment for enterprises that hire veterans and for veteran businesses.
“Currently, enterprises can defer up to 50% of conscripts from military service, and we would propose to keep this norm, but add the provision that at least 25% of those deferred from military service must be veterans, as well as establish the right to quit the service after a fixed term of service for military personnel who express a desire to quit it, to provide them with time for rehabilitation with the subsequent opportunity to return to their civilian jobs, as well as to ensure their right to military deferment”, – Valentyna Klymus explained.
People’s deputies of Ukraine Yuriy Kamelchuk and Nina Yuzhanina expressed their opinions about military deferment sanctioned by enterprises, having noted that this issue divided the country. Most businessmen and economists believe that this is the right step and this model will provide an additional resource for the maintenance of our Armed Forces, all units of the security and defense sector. The other part of society says that this is a completely unconstitutional, unfair approach, which outrages those who do not have large fortunes and the ability to receive a high salary or pay the proposed fee, whether it is UAH 20,400 or UAH 36,000 per month as a separate fee.
“Actually, both the first and the second should be brought to public discussion, and there should also be certain options that can be applied, and those who make proposals should work more actively with the specialized committees of the Verkhovna Rada. Please remember that it is very important now that your opinion is heard. This can only be through cooperation with the committees that prepare draft laws. It is not for nothing that the Economic Development Committee is their initiative, they submitted a large number of draft laws, seeing this as an additional resource for financing the Armed Forces,” Nina Yuzhanina stressed.
A lively discussion took place between the participants of the event. Andriy Dlihach, the founder and chairman of the Advanter Group, tried to convince participants that this model of military deferment will not reduce the mobilization resource, but law-abiding business will suffer, given that there is an import of labor resources in Ukraine.
“There were a lot of emotions today, but it’s fine, because the topic is actually really painful and affects a large part of the population. These are military, civilians, and businesses. One way or another, we have to touch on these topics and discuss them,” Natalia Karhapoltseva, the head of NGO “Intentsia,” concluded.
