Members of the Siberian Battalion, which was formed mostly of volunteer Russian citizens, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' International Legion, practice during military exercises, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an undisclosed location in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Apr. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine’s parliament passed a law on Thursday that will govern how the country recruits new conscripts, following months of delay and after thousands of amendments were submitted to water down the initial draft.
Lawmakers dragged their feet for months over the law, which is expected to be unpopular. The law was spurred by a request from the military command under former army Commander Valerii Zaluzhny, who said Ukraine was in need of up to 500,000 new recruits to boost army ranks.