Ukraine's defence minister backs shielding defence-industry workers from mobilisation
Ukraine's Minister of Defence Yevheniy Khmara has said the ministry's position is to maximise the reservation of defence-industry workers from mobilisation. He argued that if the state assigns enterprises the task of scaling up production of systems critical to the front and gives them contracts, it must create the conditions for those contracts to be fulfilled, and that the reservation system must reflect each enterprise's real contribution to the Defence Forces.
Key points
- Minister of Defence Yevheniy Khmara said the ministry's position is to maximise the reservation of defence-industry workers from mobilisation.
- He made the statement during a meeting with journalists on 10 October.
- Khmara said the state must create conditions for enterprises to fulfil contracts for front-critical systems if it expects them to scale up production.
- He said the reservation system must weigh each enterprise's real contribution to the Defence Forces and be fair.
- On 16 July, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution establishing a Coordination Center for organising the reservation of conscripts during mobilisation and wartime.
- As of 1 September 2026, 86% of defence-industry enterprises reviewed had confirmed their status as critically important, while 14% had not.
Why it matters
The statement sets out where the Ministry of Defence stands on how mobilisation rules should apply to workers at defence enterprises during wartime. It links the reservation system directly to the state's goal of scaling up production of front-critical systems and to the contracts that make that scaling up possible. By tying reservations to each enterprise's actual contribution, it also signals how the ministry wants the system to be policed.
What happened
At a meeting with journalists on 10 October, Ukraine's Minister of Defence Yevheniy Khmara said the ministry's position is to maximise the reservation of defence-industry workers from mobilisation. He argued that if the state asks enterprises to scale up production of systems critical to the front and hands them contracts, it must in turn create the conditions for those contracts to be fulfilled. He added that the reservation system must take into account each enterprise's real contribution to the Defence Forces and be fair.
Background
On 16 July, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution establishing a Coordination Center for organising the reservation of conscripts during mobilisation and wartime. In a Ministry of Defence report on 7 September, as of 1 September 2026, 86% of defence-industry enterprises reviewed had confirmed their status as critically important, while 14% had not. Enterprises that did not confirm critically important status may submit a full package of documents to the Ministry of Defence under the current procedure.