Mobilization figures should be secret — head of Ukrainian Army Reserves Council

Ivan Tymochko, the head of the Ukrainian Army Reserves Council, suggests that publicly discussing the number of people to be mobilized is dangerous, as it could assist Russia in predicting Ukraine’s further actions and assess resources

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"The issue of numbers – how many people need to be mobilized – I think it is inappropriate to discuss it at all because it gives the enemy an understanding of the number of people they want to call up. It is easy to predict what they will be used for, what additional equipment we may have. That is, where we can potentially, say, intensify our work. The fact that we need to mobilize people is clear, and the question here, in my opinion, is not even about drafting 500,000-600,000 people," emphasizes the military. "For me, it is many times more important that people who are not currently involved in military affairs are potentially ready to take up arms, especially if we are waiting for this bill, which should amend the laws on mobilization, military service, and total resistance, then it is actually more important to talk about how to train the civilian population or potential future recruiters with the help of forces and means."

Tymochko says that over the two years of war, Ukraine should have realized that the current military needs to be strengthened.

"We seek weapons and equipment from our allies, but it's crucial to recognize that we still need personnel to operate them. Beyond equipment, we must address various nuances like logistics, its restoration, and repair bases, which typically involve many more individuals than those directly engaged in combat. Moreover, considerations include how many of our allies can host people for training and how many we can effectively train. Therefore, keeping the figures confidential is my subjective opinion," concluded the head of the Council of Reservists.

According to him, delaying the law is a crime against the state.

"Unfortunately, a number of politicians have completely played politics and are artificially delaying the process, sometimes with absolutely stupid proposals. Again, this is manipulation and abuse of regulations. I have a great hope that, in addition to some political sentence, law enforcement agencies will deal with this in the future, because I see that the factions that once hindered military service in the reserve, that hindered the draft law on total resistance, the same ones are now somewhere blocking the law on mobilization, relying on evaders," Tymochko summed up.