In 2022, enough men enrolled in their second or third bachelor's, master's program to form 13 brigades of Ukraine's army - MP Babak

Representatives of the presidential faction, Serhiy Babak (Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation) and Fedir Venislavskyi, made statements on this topic on September 3, 2023.

Babak, in particular, described a sharp increase in the number of people aged 25 and older who are entering their second and third higher education with the onset of a full-scale Russian invasion.

"There are two types of evaders. The first ones commit a crime: they give a bribe to evade mobilization and receive fake certificates, etc. The second ones use a completely legal way to enter the second/third, etc. education. To understand the scale of evasion through enrollment in educational institutions, I am attaching a chart. In 2019-2021, an average of 40 thousand men aged 25+ entered educational institutions at all levels of education, in 2022, 106+ thousand entered, and this year there are already 76+ thousand, and this is not the end of the admission campaign. This is 13 brigades. Only for 2022. This is just to understand the scale," explained Serhiy Babak on his Telegram channel.

In order to prevent this and to take this category of citizens into the army, Babak continued, it is necessary to "initiate changes to the legislation on mobilization."

No deferral for "those who entered the second, third or fourth higher education after 30 years": a bill has been registered

In his turn, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, a representative of the Servant of the People faction, Fedir Venislavskyi, announced the registration of the relevant draft law. He said this on the air of the United News telethon.

"I proposed that people who study in consecutive types of education should be entitled to a deferment. And those who entered the second, third, or fourth higher education after the age of 30 could not use this right to deferment," the MP explained.

Venislavskyi expects that once adopted, the document will also apply to men who used their education to evade mobilization in 2022.