Ukrainian parliament passes bill raising military age to 55

The new law will enable Ukrainians aged 40-55 “to realize their constitutional duty of protecting the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” according to a memo.

The Code of Labor Laws will now include a clause that employees called up to the military service during a mobilization campaign for a maximum period of one year will be guaranteed the protection of their jobs and positions within institutions and organizations regardless of subordination and form of ownership, as well as their average salary, one of the authors, Oleksandr Kuzmuk (member of the Economic Development parliamentary group) said before the voting.

The bill was favored by 267 deputies during the vote on Thursday evening, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent said.

The new law will also allow the increase of social guarantees for military service members called up for military service during a mobilization campaign.

The law also clarifies a procedure for “fulfilling military-transport duty.”