A petition asking President Volodymyr Zelensky to lower the upper age limit for mobilization from 60 to 50 to "improve the economic situation" in Ukraine has garnered over 25,000 signatures since it was posted on July 5.
Under Ukrainian law, an electronic petition to the president must receive at least 25,000 signatures within three months to be considered. There are 34 days remaining to collect signatures for the petition.
The petition's author, Andrii Azarov, did not explain in the description how reducing the upper age limit for mobilization would benefit Ukraine's economy amid Russia's full-scale invasion.
Some sectors of Ukraine’s economy are facing a labor shortage, as many workers are serving in the army, internally displaced, or have moved abroad to escape the war.
The problem has intensified in recent months due to a recruitment push and a new law requiring employers to maintain and share updated military registration records for employees.
As a result, more men are avoiding formal employment, where conscription officers can easily locate them, by moving into the "grey" market or stopping work altogether.
In June, a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce Ukraine of more than 100 of its members, including some of Ukraine's largest employers, found that 81% of respondents said that mobilization is affecting their business operations.
Ukraine's parliament adopted an updated mobilization law in mid-April to ramp up mobilization amid Russia's ongoing war. The new law simplifies the process for identifying eligible conscripts and includes additional penalties for those dodging the draft.
Another law, signed by the president just before the mobilization law was passed, lowered the minimum age of compulsory military service from 27 to 25.
After the new law on mobilization came into force in Ukraine on May 18, military-aged men were given 60 days to update their personal data so that the state could locate them. The deadline for updating data expired on July 17, 2024.
From May 18 to July 16, 4,690,496 military-aged men updated their data by the July 17 deadline, according to the Defense Ministry.
Andrea Januta
