Zelensky’s Party Leader Proposes Military Training for Ukrainian Lawmakers

The head of the president’s Servant of the People party in the Verkhovna Rada, David Arakhamia, has proposed that Ukrainian lawmakers and civil servants undergo military training, as reported by the media outlet LB.UA.

Arakhamia suggests that deputies and officials should participate in military training on a part-time basis, alongside other Ukrainians.

“I don’t mean that we will be in a study instead of a session (plenary meetings in the parliament). It will be part-time,” he said.

In his opinion, Ukrainians need clarification on how mobilization takes place.

Arakhamia notes that many people believe that after receiving a summons and passing a military medical commission, they will immediately be sent to a training center with inadequate preparation, and then to the front line.

Also, he said that there is currently no unity in the Ukrainian parliament, and the state faces a parliamentary crisis due to deputies who want to stop working.

“A significant crisis is approaching the parliament because I have received at least 17 applications for drafting a mandate from the faction,” Arakhamia said.

Currently, there are 401 members of the Verkhovna Rada.

“We will release one more person due to medical reasons, making it 400 people,” Arakhamia said. “Gathering 226 (the minimum necessary number for making a decision) out of 400 deputies is very difficult, to be honest."

According to him, there are also deputies in other caucuses and parties who wish to leave.

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Based on this, the leadership of Servant of the People decided that the party will not vote for the drafting of mandates.

“Only if there are medical indications, and under no other conditions, will we vote for the drafting of mandates to keep the parliament legitimate,” Arakhamia said.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the mobilization issue is primarily a question of justice.

Zelensky said that the military [members], who have been protecting Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion, deserve to be replaced. Instead, all other individuals should know where and for how long they will be mobilized, and they should be assured of proper training and provisions.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has been working on a new draft law on mobilization for two weeks now, aiming to enlist as many as 500,000 people into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). However, both the parliament and the public have criticized the initial version of the document.

Although the draft law was supposed to regulate the demobilization of those who have been fighting for nearly two years since the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion, many lawmakers and analysts view the proposed law as problematic.

Earlier, Zelensky announced that the military leadership considers it necessary to draft up to 500,000 people into the army.

However, recently, the president expressed doubts about the expediency of such a number. “I have not yet seen enough clear details to say that half a million must be mobilized,” he commented.

The problem arises with financing, as it will require significant funding from the state budget – perhaps Hr. 500 billion ($13 billion dollars).

Zelensky agreed that if there is a lack of trained, professional people, then the military should have a tool in the form of mobilization “so that they can mobilize a part of society and then prepare it.”