The Defense Ministry's recruitment advisor, Oleksii Bezhevets, announced on March 19 that 27 recruitment centers of a new type are planned to be opened in large cities and regional centers in the first half of 2024, the Defense Ministry's press service reported.
In cooperation with Ukraine's Armed Forces and local authorities, Ukraine's Defense Ministry opened two such centers in Lviv and Zaporizhzhia, both reportedly independent of enlistment offices.
The Ukrainian government aims to ramp up mobilization efforts in 2024 and has pledged to change the approach to military recruitment, giving more choices for potential conscripts. The parliament is now considering a new draft of the mobilization law after its initial, contentious version was withdrawn.
The new-type recruitment centers, like in Lviv and Zaporizhzhia, operate as consulting centers where potential service members can learn about available vacancies in the Armed Forces and the specifics of service in certain military units. The recruitment centers can also support candidates during the application process if needed.
"There (in the centers), answers to these questions will be provided: What are the military units, which positions are available in the unit, where will I serve? Will my profession, experience, and health conditions be considered?" Bezhevets said during the opening of the second recruitment center in Zaporizhzhia.
"We have made this process as transparent and clear as possible," Bezhevets noted, revealing plans to expand the project to other regions.
There will be two civilian employees working in the Zaporizhzhia center, who will not be authorized to give military summons, and their task will be communicating with potential service members, according to the statement of the Defense Ministry.
"Our aim is to create a network of centers for every person who wants to become a defender of the motherland, who understands that it is necessary to join the defense of the motherland to come there (to the center) to clarify all the related question," Bezhevets said.
The Zaporizhzhia recruitment center offers several vacant positions in more than five units, including the National Guard, the Marine Corps, the Territorial Defense, and others, the Defense Ministry's statement reads.
Chris York
