Defence Minister Khmara backs maximum draft deferments for defence-industry staff

Ukraine's Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara has said the ministry's position is to "reserve" the workforce of the defence industry as fully as possible, meaning employees would be deferred from mobilisation. He spoke at a meeting with journalists on 10 October, according to the outlet LB.ua, which reported his remarks on 11 October.

What the minister said

"If enterprises are given the task of scaling up production of systems critical for the front, and the state gives them contracts, it must create the conditions for fulfilling those contracts," Khmara said.

He added that the system must take into account an enterprise's real contribution to supplying the Defence Forces and must be fair. The source report does not say how that contribution would be measured or which companies would qualify.

What "reservation" means

In Ukraine, "reservation" (bronyuvannya) is the mechanism under which employers, including defence manufacturers and other businesses deemed critical, can have key employees exempted from mobilisation. The aim is to keep skilled staff at their jobs rather than have them called up to the armed forces.

A position, not a decision

Khmara's comments set out the Defence Ministry's stance. The report does not mention any new rules, draft legislation, quotas or timelines, and it does not say whether changes to the current reservation system are being prepared.

The remarks come as Ukraine seeks to expand output of weapons it regards as critical for the front. The Defence Ministry has said its Defence Procurement Agency has contracted more than 300% more drones this year than last, a rise that increases demand for skilled production workers.

The question of who is deferred from mobilisation, and on what basis, is sensitive in Ukraine. Khmara's emphasis on fairness suggests any expansion of deferments would need to be tied to measurable contributions by individual enterprises, though the source does not elaborate on this.