Photo from UNIAN

In the long term, a system should be built in Ukraine so that every citizen was capable, if necessary, of engaging in defending their country – and that's when the government will be able to completely abandon mandatory conscription as such.

That's according to Colonel-General Ruslan Khomchak, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who spoke on the air of Ukraine TV channel, Ukrainian Pravda reports.

"Does the Army plan to abandon draft altogether – you know, we have this vision for the future. But this can only be when we have a system of reserve training. That's when we have such a system that would ensure that anyone could be ready to defend their home," Khomchak said.

Citizens must learn to provide first aid to themselves and those around them, which should help save lives, the commander-in-chief added.

Read alsoCabinet approves draft deal on military cooperation with TurkeyKhomchak admitted that it will take more than a year to set up such a system, while the Armed Forces already have an understanding of what such a system should be like.

"Such systems require financing, personnel training – to cover both ordinary civilians, community leaders, and senior state officials. Once such a system is in place, we can talk about abolishing conscription because it will no longer be required," Khomchak said.

He added that this year the number of conscripts was reduced as the Army is fully staffed and the military are already raising the issue of not contracting soldiers, but moving to a new quality level: "We understand that when there's quality, there will be a completely different approach to carrying out combat missions and doing routine work, as well as to the status of a serviceman."

Ukraine Army: Other reports