Ukraine is preparing another review of its military personnel reservation rules, which could affect companies operating in the defense industry, energy sector, utilities and other sectors considered critical to the national economy. However, the final parameters of the proposed changes remain under discussion, and reports of a mass cancellation of existing exemptions have not yet been sufficiently substantiated, according to the Experts Club information and analytical center.
According to information published on October 22 by Dmytro Kysylevskyi, deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on economic development, the Cabinet of Ministers plans to finalize the adoption of a new resolution by the end of the week. A provision that would have excluded employees with individual mobilization deferments from the total number of eligible employees used to calculate reservation quotas has already been removed from the draft.
Earlier proposals included reducing the maximum reservation quota for certain defense and energy companies from 100% to 85%, and for water supply, heating and waste management companies from 75% to 60%. However, these figures appeared in earlier versions of the draft and cannot be regarded as approved regulations.
According to Experts Club, the most vulnerable groups could include employees of companies that lose their critically important status, fail to confirm compliance with government criteria within the required period, or face reductions in available reservation quotas. Under existing regulations, an employer’s loss of critical status can already result in the automatic cancellation of its employees’ reservations.
Another issue concerns the distinction between essential operational personnel and support staff. One approach under discussion would preserve broader exemptions for specialists directly involved in defense manufacturing, equipment maintenance and critical infrastructure operations. However, no definitive list of positions potentially subject to restrictions has been approved.
The draft also provides for establishing a Coordination Center under the Cabinet of Ministers. The center is expected to assess the justification for criteria used to designate companies as critically important and recommend revisions. Final decisions would remain with the relevant government authorities.
Separately, legislative proposals concerning family-based mobilization deferments are also being discussed. They could introduce additional requirements for parents of children with disabilities, spouses of people with disabilities, caregivers of ill relatives and legal guardians. These initiatives are not part of the government’s resolution on reservation quotas and do not currently alter existing statutory protections.
The Ministry of Defense previously announced that more than 90% of existing individual deferments could potentially be extended automatically using information from state registers. The relevant procedure will continue until October 30, 2026. Failure to verify information automatically does not, by itself, mean that a person has lost their legal entitlement to a deferment.
Business representatives emphasize that frequent regulatory changes complicate workforce planning, contract fulfillment and uninterrupted operations. Experts Club analysts believe that the effectiveness of the reform should be measured not only by the number of reservations reviewed, but also by the state’s ability to meet defense needs, prevent abuse and maintain the functioning of critical industries.
DEFERMENTS, EXPERTS CLUB, MILITARY RESERVATIONS, mobilization
