There will be no extension of service terms without increased mobilization — the military ombudswoman

The Office of the Military Ombudsman receives a large number of inquiries from servicemembers every day. On average it is about 66 complaints per day, but sometimes their number rises to several hundred in a day. This, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, was told by military ombudsman Olga Reshetylova.

According to her, most appeals concern the search for persons missing under special circumstances, undergoing VLK (military medical commissions), referrals for treatment, discharge from military service, and transfer to another place of service. Complaints about the actions of TCK or violence, the ombudsman says, constitute only a small fraction of the overall flow.

Separately, Olga Reshetylova emphasized that the decisions of the Office of the Military Ombudsman are not merely advice for commanders or units. The conclusions of this body, she said, are mandatory for implementation.

One of the most acute topics she named was the question of service terms. She explained that the working group is currently only studying the possibility of creating a formula that would allow for clear limits to how long people remain in the military.

“You shouldn’t expect clear service terms without the strengthening of mobilization. …first there must be stronger accountability for draft evaders, and only then – stricter accountability for SZCh. Because it turns out… all the responsibility and all the restrictions constantly fall only on them,” says the military ombudsman.

Among other problems raised by Olga Reshetylova is the pay imbalance in the military. She pointed out that in the rear, payments to servicemen are sometimes lower than the salary of a supermarket security guard. In her view, changing this situation requires an audit of the Ministry of Defense and additional assistance from the West.

The ombudsman also drew attention to the risks of rotations. According to her, the greatest losses often occur precisely during withdrawal from positions, and some servicemen cannot leave the “zero” for months because the route of retreat is lethally dangerous.

Another painful issue is the mobilization of people who are effectively unable to serve due to their health. According to Reshetylova, this not only creates an unnecessary burden on the system, but also drains the budget and generates new bureaucracy. In one unit, according to her data, about 2000 people were found unfit for service for health reasons.

Speaking about SZCh, the ombudsman said that the main reason for such cases is not conflicts with commanders, but the fear of death. She believes that this problem should be addressed not only by disciplinary methods, but also through the psychological adaptation of servicemen and the digitization of documents.

The topic of the moral state of fighters at the front also came up in the interview. Commanders, the ombudsman says, must ensure that servicemen have the opportunity to at least somehow maintain contact with their families — via radio communications, voice messages, or letters delivered by logistics. Isolation, it is emphasized, only worsens the condition of people on the positions.

Earlier we wrote:

• Mass mobilization failure: thousands of people should not have served, but are already in units, says the ombudsman
• TCK as a “place of unfreedom”: the ombudsman reported illegal detention of people for up to 50 days
• A global overhaul of mobilization: what the Rada and the Ministry of Defense are preparing
• Three soldiers explained why they left the army
• Returned from SZCh — and immediately to combat? The General Staff explained where servicemen are most often sent