Mobilization deferments to change: even the energy and defense sectors will no longer be guaranteed 100% coverage

The Ukrainian government has finalized changes to the system for reserving military-eligible employees. Key changes include revising the criteria for classifying businesses as critical, limiting unconditional 100% reservation, and developing a mechanism that would allow all employees to be reserved under certain conditions. The government also announced plans to strengthen penalties for evading military service.

This was announced on the Cabinet of Ministers’ official website by Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi on October 23, 2026.

According to the prime minister, the main goal of the changes is to establish clear rules for businesses and employees, while also taking the needs of the Defense Forces into account. The prime minister explained that the number of people with reserved status is growing by tens of thousands each month, while service members who have been defending the country for a fifth year should have the opportunity to return home from service.

“The main task is to ensure fair and clear rules for everyone working on the home front, and above all for those fighting,” emphasized Serhii Koretskyi.

The first area of the changes concerns the criteria businesses must meet to be classified as critically important. The government plans to separate a business’s critical status from its economic performance. Priority will continue to be given to sectors that support the country’s defense and day-to-day functioning, including the defense industry, energy, communications, logistics, and housing and utilities. According to the prime minister, the basic operating conditions for these sectors will remain unchanged. At the same time, sector-specific and regional criticality criteria will be reviewed, and their application will be checked for possible abuse.

The second area is ending unconditional 100% reservation of employees, including at businesses in the energy and defense industries. According to Serhii Koretskyi, full reservation without additional conditions creates inequality for those already serving, as well as opportunities for abuse. He said that some companies had been set up specifically to obtain reserved status, turning it into a business. At the same time, the government promises not to undermine the operations of businesses that manufacture weapons or keep critical infrastructure running. If a business needs to reserve more employees than the general limit allows to operate without disruption, it will be able to submit a substantiated request to the Coordination Center.

The third area concerns penalties for evading military service. According to the prime minister, the Ministry of Defense is stepping up its work on this issue. The government insists that the rules must be the same for everyone.

The fourth area is developing a mechanism that will allow businesses to obtain 100% reservation provided they meet their mobilization obligation. Under the proposal, a company will be able to reserve all its employees if it regularly and voluntarily enrolls some of them for military service. The government says that people must know in advance exactly where they will serve and for how long. They will retain their jobs and salaries.

The mechanism will be developed jointly by the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Economy, and business representatives. According to Serhii Koretskyi, the government intends to approve a transparent mechanism by December 1, 2026.

The prime minister explained that such a system should give service members confidence that they will be rotated, while those joining the service will know how long they are expected to serve. The government’s intention is also to make the mobilization system more predictable and reduce situations in which people eligible for military service are searched for on the streets.

Serhii Koretskyi separately emphasized that the announced decisions do not mean mobilization will automatically be intensified the very next day. According to him, the changes are primarily intended to bring order to the reservation system and curb abuse. At the same time, the government believes Ukraine must be prepared for different scenarios in the war, including a possible escalation of mobilization in Russia.

It is important to note that the published statement outlines the main areas for updating the system but does not include the full text of the final regulatory act, with all procedures and conditions. Therefore, the specific rules for applying the new limits and the 100% reservation mechanism will depend on the approved documents.

We previously reported:

• Reservation may be cut: to 85% for the defense and energy sectors, and to 60% for utilities workers
• Reservation may be reduced: businesses fear losing key specialists
• Thousands of employees could lose reserved status: the Cabinet is tightening rules for critical businesses
• Reserved status for a “fake job”: Ukrzaliznytsia official in Mykolaiv region organized a scheme to evade mobilization
• Even those with reserved status can still be mobilized: an unlawful call-up does not guarantee release from service