During the discussion of the new draft law on mobilization in the Verkhovna Rada, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi opposed the provision on the involvement of prisoners and convicts in the army. This was reported by NV, citing its sources.
"He says: is the army for bad people? It is not. But he also said: I need people, the Russians have already drafted 400,000 and are preparing several hundred thousand more for June, up to 400,000. Who should I fight with?" an unnamed source quoted the Commander-in-Chief as saying.
Zaluzhnyi also suggested that deputies themselves go to the front if there is no replenishment for the army.
"Who should I fight with? Either appeal to the world and ask for people there, or you go to war if you don't provide (army replenishment)," the publication quotes its source, who was present at the meeting, as saying.
Another source added that Defense Minister Umerov is determined that the document should be submitted as it is now.
"He says: we need to bring it to the hall. Because no one in the committee, except Bezuhla, wants to develop a new version of the document," the source said.
The publication writes that some MPs want the changes to the draft law to be made by the Cabinet of Ministers, presumably in an attempt to remove responsibility from the parliament.
