(Rt) A reworked draft mobilization bill presented to Ukrainian MPs on Tuesday is more “repressive” and “unconstitutional” than the original, Yulia Timoshenko, the leader of ‘Fatherland’ party in parliament, has claimed. The politician, who served as Ukraine’s prime minister between 2007 and 2010, also warned that if passed, the legislation could spark social strife.
In December, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that the military leadership had proposed mobilizing up to 500,000 more troops. Later that month, the government submitted a bill tightening conscription rules. On January 11, the cabinet recalled the legislation for amendment, and reintroduced it for consideration at the end of the month.
In a video posted on her Facebook account on Saturday, Timoshenko said the latest iteration of the “tough and cynical” legislation could “bring about a tragic rift between the government and the people,” and “could even lead to public confrontation.” She called for the mobilization of police and security personnel, adding that she was determined to drum up support among other parliamentary factions’ leaders to stop the bill in its current form.
On Thursday, the former prime minister characterized the revised legislation as a “catastrophe,” and accused the government of “shamelessly cheating parliament” by resubmitting “draconian norms” that had already been rejected by lawmakers.
