Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the potential for demobilization in Ukraine.

Demobilization in Ukraine is currently not provided for by law, and could negatively impact the course of the Russian-Ukrainian war, stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with Italian journalist Cecilia Sali for the newspaper Il Foglio, published on January 27. According to him, to bring soldiers back home, it is necessary to compel Russia to swiftly end the war.

In response to the journalist's question about demobilization, the president acknowledged that there is a relevant demand in society, but it cannot be realized at this time. Zelensky explained that demobilization processes are not stipulated by legislation.

“That is, martial law implies the mobilization of people and all resources available in the country. Absolutely all of them. And this, unfortunately, is the challenge of this war, and why we need to accelerate efforts to end it. We must force Russia to conclude this war. Today we are defending ourselves. If tomorrow, for example, half of the army simply goes home, then we should have surrendered on the first day. That’s the reality. Because if tomorrow half of the people go home, Putin will kill us all,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.

The president noted that Ukraine is mobilizing a sufficient number of recruits aged 25 and older, and soldiers have rotations and leave. However, he admitted that “this is not enough,” and there needs to be a focus on quality.

It is worth mentioning that before the second reading of the mobilization bill in April 2024, provisions that provided for the demobilization of servicemen after 36 months of service were removed. As reported by “Ukrainian Truth,” this was initiated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskiy.

After this, the press service of the Ministry of Defense stated that within eight months, until December 2024, the defense committee of the Verkhovna Rada was to develop a separate bill on rotation and demobilization. However, this deadline was missed – it later became clear that the Ministry of Defense had requested the committee to postpone the preparation of the bill until March 2025, explaining this by the insufficient number of reserves to replace those demobilized.