Ex-defence minister Fedorov: Ukraine's mobilisation overhaul was due to launch in August to fix staffing crisis by September

Ukraine's former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has said his proposed mobilisation reform had been due to be presented in July, launched in August, and would have delivered a marked improvement in army staffing by September.

Source: Fedorov in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "Our task was to present it in July and launch it in August, so that by September we would no longer have this problem.

That was the timeline. I showed it to MPs, and I think I spoke about it publicly as well."

Details: Fedorov added that discussions on the changes are continuing at the Defence Ministry and expressed hope that the new leadership would carry on implementing them.

He explained that mobilisation should be seen as only one part of a wider system for staffing the armed forces. In his view, the first priority is to change the conditions of service by introducing defined terms, contracts, decent pay and opportunities for professional development.

Fedorov said people often do not join the military service because they are afraid of being killed, so the government needs to make it clear that service is not limited to combat roles, while also providing service members with fair terms and conditions.

He suggested the recruitment of foreign nationals as one way to strengthen the army. Fedorov said that in the longer term, foreign citizens could account for as many as 50% of frontline service members or assault troops. He also pointed to plans to increase pay for assault troops and infantry to US$7,000 per month, enable service members to transfer within corps, and introduce contracts with fixed terms of service.

Fedorov acknowledged that his team had made mistakes in their communications about the reforms, saying the planned changes should have been presented to the public for discussion.

He also said that Mykhailo Drapatyi, the new commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, has an opportunity to continue to transform the armed forces and complete the changes Fedorov's team had begun to put in place.

Update: Fedorov also said that a meeting with key figures involved in the mobilisation reform had been scheduled for the day he was dismissed. At that meeting, he had been due to sign an order implementing the first changes to the work of military enlistment offices. He said these included banning balaclavas, changing how cameras operate in enlistment offices, and rolling out digital tools.

Fedorov stressed that his team had been following an approved plan and had managed to implement the first stage of the reform before his dismissal. He said the Ministry of Defence had introduced changes in June related to terms of service, deferments, increased pay for service members, recruitment of foreign nationals and the possibility of transfers between units.

Background:

• On 15 July, Mykhailo Fedorov summed up his time in office, thanked those who had supported him, and said he would continue his mission to "defeat the enemy through asymmetry, the speed of innovation and the power of organisation".
• On 16 July, Fedorov said that Ukraine's mobilisation problems cannot be resolved without a new social contract, systemic reforms in the armed forces, and proper treatment of service members.

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