Ukraine’s Parliament Passes a Politically Fraught Mobilization Bill

After months of political wrangling, Ukrainian lawmakers on Thursday passed a mobilization law aimed at replenishing the nation’s exhausted and depleted fighting forces, which are struggling to hold back relentless Russian assaults that are expected to intensify in the coming months.

Yulia Paliychuk, a spokeswoman for the party of President Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed that the law had been adopted by Parliament. It passed overwhelmingly with support from 283 lawmakers, while 49 lawmakers from some opposition parties abstained, according to the official roll call.

The urgent need for fresh troops has been evident since last fall, but Mr. Zelensky has been exceedingly cautious in dealing with the politically fraught topic, which has the potential to undermine the social cohesion critical to Ukraine’s ability to wage war against a larger and better-armed enemy.

Mr. Zelensky had urged lawmakers to act this week and is expected to sign the new legislation soon. However, the last time Parliament passed controversial legislation related to mobilization, Mr. Zelensky waited nearly a year before signing it into law earlier this month.

Mr. Zelensky was visiting Lithuania on Thursday.

Lawmakers passed the bill only hours after the country was rocked by yet another large-scale bombardment of more than eighty missiles and drones, many aimed at Ukraine’s already battered energy infrastructure.

The law passed by legislators on Thursday addresses the issue of mobilization broadly and includes provisions to make the conscription process more transparent and equitable. The full text of the law was not immediately available.

Lawmakers outlined parts of the bill in statements posted on social media and in interviews with Ukrainian media, noting that it included a mix of incentives for soldiers who voluntarily serve and new penalties for those trying to evade conscription.

Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of Parliament in the opposition European Solidarity party, said he refused to vote for the bill because it did not address when conscripted soldiers would be released from service.

The Ministry of Defense said in a statement that demobilization was excluded from the government bill at the request of General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s top military commander, who understands the operational situation and the threats facing the state.

The removal of the provision to cap service at three years could provoke anger in the ranks, particularly among infantry soldiers who have been engaged in brutal combat on the front lines for more than two years with little respite.

Inna Sovsun, another opposition lawmaker, said she could not vote for the bill because the punishments for evading military service and the bonuses for those who enlisted were insufficient.

Soldiers on the front, many of whom have been fighting for more than two years, have been outspoken in expressing their frustration over the perceived lack of political will to find new soldiers to help ease their burden.

Ukraine’s struggle to replenish its ranks comes as combat forces are also grappling with shortages of ammunition and critical supplies.

One lawmaker, Iryna Friz, said the law allows recruits who sign contracts to choose their own units and creates additional leave and rewards for soldiers who destroy or capture enemy weapons or equipment.

The U.S. Congress has not approved a new military aid package for Ukraine since October, and a proposal for $60 billion in military support has faced resistance from a faction of Republicans aligned with former President Donald J. Trump.

In contrast to Ukraine’s ammunition and personnel shortages, Russia has been able to recruit an estimated 30,000 new soldiers to fight in Ukraine every month, according to Ukrainian intelligence officials and Western military analysts.

The British military intelligence agency said the Kremlin was seeking to recruit 400,000 people in 2024 to sustain its forces in Ukraine.

The mobilization issue in Ukraine has been a point of contention between Mr. Zelensky and some of his military commanders, with the nation needing as many as 500,000 new recruits to counter the Russian threat.