Mobilisation in Ukraine should be carried out primarily so that people who have been defending Ukraine since the first days and have won the most difficult months of the war can rest.
"The issue of mobilisation is, first of all, an understanding of what it means for different segments of society. This is a matter of justice, because there are people who have been at war from day one, and the fact that they do not complain does not mean that they do not need rest," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Channel 4 News.
He added that if there is a shortage of trained and professional people, the military should be given a tool to mobilise a part of society.
"It is very important to train these people, not to throw them immediately on the battlefield, because they are not meat - they are people. Therefore, the law on mobilisation needs to be reasonable and fair. I mean, the military needs it. We cannot say that they have enough army. It is dishonest and unfair... It is also important to tell people where they are going and for how long," he stressed.
Zelenskyy noted that mobilisation target is likely to be lower than 500,000 people mentioned in the draft law.
"Personally, I don't see the need to mobilise half a million people yet. Not because I want to please someone, but because these are people, lives. I have not seen enough clear details today to say that half a million people need to be mobilised. And third, it's money. And no matter how you look at it, all these finances do not come from our partners - all this comes from the Ukrainian budget," the head of state stressed.
He added that there is a request for half a million people to be mobilised into the Armed Forces, but "everything needs to be calculated very correctly".
In addition, Zelenskyy added that Ukrainians cannot afford to be tired of the war.
"When I say defence, it's not just the frontline, it's also people who work, people who have businesses, people who pay taxes - and you can get tired of doing this under rockets. But people keep doing it. We have no right to get tired of it. If we get tired, we will lose what we have... We can afford to be tired in the evening, but in the morning we will have to defend the state if we want to save it," Zelenskyy said.