Women and people over 18 should prepare for mobilisation – volunteer Berlinska

Ukraine has reached a point where the entire population needs to prepare for resistance. Women and people over 18 should prepare for mobilisation. This was stated by public activist and volunteer Maria Berlinska, founder and head of the Aerial Reconnaissance Support Centre and the Victory Drones project, to LB live.

She noted that she does not want yesterday’s schoolchildren to serve, but the realities dictate different conditions. In her opinion, the situation has deteriorated, and the entire population needs to be involved in the fight against one of the world’s strongest armies.

‘We are already at the point where women, and in fact people from the age of 18, have to prepare, the entire adult population in general,’ Berlinska explained about mobilisation.

According to her, there is ‘still a mobilisation resource’ to use, but the population needs to be prepared. She also noted that there should be no untouchables.

‘It is important to show the unity of the nation,’ she added.

Still, Berlinska does not yet see the need for forced mobilisation of women. In order to avoid such unpopular decisions, she believes that men should be preserved.

Mobilisation in Ukraine

Ukraine has been in a state of general mobilisation since the beginning of Russian aggression in 2022. This means that men who are fit for military service are called up to strengthen the army and ensure the country’s defence. In 2024, the Verkhovna Rada passed an amendment to the law on mobilisation that strengthens the registration and conscription of men who are fit for military service.

Although the war in Ukraine has been going on for more than three years, the old, inefficient former Soviet conscription system was not reformed until more than two years after the Russian invasion. The delay was mainly due to domestic political reasons, meaning that large-scale mobilisation is extremely unpopular among large segments of the Ukrainian population.

By the end of the failed counteroffensive in autumn 2023, the state had not even begun to properly explain to Ukrainian society that the war would be protracted and that the available armed forces would not be sufficient to fight a long war. Therefore, the strengthening of the mobilisation system came as an unpleasant surprise, contrasting with the state narratives of the previous two years.

People are massively reluctant to serve because of the reservation system introduced, which shows that ‘war is not for everyone’. Also, the lack of demobilisation prospects and corruption scandals in the military and government agencies are discouraging people from defending their homeland.

As a reminder, Kyiv defenders with war-related disabilities of groups I and II have received an increase in their annual financial aid. The initiative of Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko provides for an increase in payments.