On September 17, the Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading draft law No. 12023, which proposes allowing foreigners to hold officer positions.
The document proposes allowing foreigners and stateless persons to sign contracts with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Special Transport Service and the National Guard.
To do this, they will have to undergo a special check – it will be carried out by the Center for Recruiting Foreigners, which has yet to be created.
The bill provides for:
- the opportunity for foreigners and stateless persons to sign contracts and serve in military service as officers in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard.
- Entry and exit from Ukraine of foreigners and stateless persons doing military service is carried out with a passport. Also, residence on the territory of Ukraine of such persons is confirmed by a military registration document of the Ministry of Defense.
- Foreigners and stateless persons must undergo a special check of the legality of their stay on the territory of Ukraine. And according to the draft, this should not be done by the SBU, but again by the recruiting center. This is a very strange norm! After all, people in officer positions have access to classified information with limited access.
According to the authors, this will allow for greater involvement of foreigners in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, especially experienced fighters and officers.
The project was supported by 278 deputies.
The European Solidarity faction stated that the document needs to be revised in terms of checking foreigners and especially stateless persons.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.