During a meeting with representatives of the Reservists’ Council of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed changes to the legislation concerning the military reserve.
The President stressed that all those present and members of the Council of Reservists are "modern heroes of independent Ukraine who have come a long professional way" serving the state. If necessary, they are ready to start defending the country within 24 hours, so interaction with reservists is important for the authorities.
"Thanks to you, we defended and keep defending our independence and territorial integrity from the Russian aggression. And now, having fulfilled your duty, you continue to serve in the operational reserve of your military units. I believe that Ukraine is very lucky to have such heroes who are always characterized as courageous, patriotic and - one of the most important qualities - professional people of our country," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President addressed the audience with a proposal to discuss in detail the legislative initiatives submitted by him, which directly affect reservists. In particular, it goes about the draft laws "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving Certain Issues of Military Duty Performance and Military Accounting" and "On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine on Certain Issues of Improving the Organization of Military Duty Performance in Special Period".
The first document developed by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine provides for the transformation of military commissariats into territorial centers of recruitment and social support in accordance with European approaches. The bill also proposes to introduce a new type of military service - military service for conscripts from among reservists in a special period, which provides for the possibility of conscription of reservists in a special period without announcing mobilization for up to six months. Such conscription will be held pursuant to the decision by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In addition, the draft law proposes to extend to reservists a set of social guarantees that apply to mobilized persons; to improve the formation of the military reserve, as well as to create military records of reservists in the state, in particular with the help of the automated system "Oberig" (Unified State Register of Conscripts and Reservists).
The second bill - "On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine on Certain Issues of Improving the Organization of Military Duty Performance in Special Period", which was also developed by the Ministry of Defense, provides for preferential taxation of individuals - entrepreneurs in case of their conscription from among reservists in a special period. For the entire period of such service, they are exempted from the obligation to accrue, pay and file tax reports on personal income tax.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ruslan Khomchak noted that the main purpose of the legislative changes is to create conditions when the combat and professional experience of reservists can be used to the maximum extent.
"Places of service must be provided so that people can give results immediately," he said.
Chairman of the Reservists’ Council of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Taras Tkalich reminded that the Council was established in January 2018 and consists of 100% of combatants and contract reservists.
Myroslav Hai, Deputy Chairman of the Reservists’ Council, noted that the members of the Council have been working on draft amendments to the legal framework for two years. This year, thanks to the support and joint work with the Armed Forces Command, representatives of the General Staff, the President's Office and the Reservists’ Council, draft laws were submitted to help create the legal basis for the military reserve system, territorial recruitment and social support centers.
He thanked the President for supporting the initiative of the reservists and submitting bills to parliament as urgent.
"We hope that they will pass the first reading in September, because these laws are important," Myroslav Hai stated.
During the meeting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also presented state awards to the military. According to the President, he knows that awards are not the main thing for most servicemen, but he is convinced that such details as the award for military service and their worthy evaluation form the government's attitude to the military and their feats.
"I think we should always remember and award servicemen," the President said.
