Ukrainian parliament restores mobilization exemption for siblings of fallen soldiers
Source: Verkhovna Rada
The Ukrainian parliament voted on Wednesday to bring back the exemption from mobilization for the siblings of soldiers who have died or gone missing on the front lines. The bill 11391 received 310 votes.
The policy law grants a deferment from military service during mobilization to individuals whose close relatives—including full or half-siblings—were killed or went missing in action during the period of martial law.
Prior to the vote, the bill got a go-ahead from Ukraine’s defense ministry. The latest policy update comes in response to a strong public reaction over the amendments that quietly removed half-siblings from the list of close relatives eligible for exemption.
The new legislation restores justice, offering legal protection to the relatives of those who have died or gone missing during the war.
In my previous column, I wrote about social innovations in Ukraine. Those innovations are part of civic resilience and the democratization of security, which Europe is paying close attention to right now. The EU is trying to work out how to spread responsibility for its own security across society as a whole, rather than leaving it to institutions alone. It is looking for concrete ways to bring ordinary people into the work of defense and resistance.
Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers have appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court demanding that NABU be obligated to register proceedings regarding the fact of exerting influence on the court and to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in the case of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, due to her pressure on Supreme Court judges who were considering a lawsuit to overturn sanctions.
Internationally recognized brands and financial institutions should direct capital to Ukraine now, not waiting for the hostilities to end. This was emphasized by Rinat Akhmetov, president of FC Shakhtar, during a working visit to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where he met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
In recent days, Moscow’s official rhetoric has been dominated by hysteria over the decision of…
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.