Project "Maximum Control": citizens' data consolidated for the needs of military enlistment centers
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution that the Ministry of Defense calls an "experimental project" for automatic military registration. The stated goal — reducing bureaucracy — is only one side of the coin. In fact, the state is creating an unprecedented mechanism of automatic registration and control of citizens capable of serving.
Deputy Minister of Defense for Digital Development Oksana Ferchuk confirmed that data exchange has been established between the Ministry of Defense, the State Migration Service (DMS), the demographic register and the civil status register. According to her, "a person no longer needs to run around offices... The system will do it automatically, because it already has all the necessary data." That means all the necessary information about you is already consolidated in a single state system.
“Digital conscription” abroad: no queues, but no choice either
The new decision hits two key categories that previously could "fall through the cracks" of the military enlistment centers:
- New conscripts: Men who turn 18 will automatically receive conscript status, even if they did not appear at a recruitment center at 17.
- Men abroad (18–60 years): The most sensitive category. Registration will take place when obtaining or exchanging passport documents at DMS units abroad. The state is effectively tying the fulfillment of military duty to a vital administrative service.
Officially, men residing abroad no longer need to visit territorial recruitment centers or conscription offices or undergo the military medical commission to be registered. However, this "convenience" comes at a high price: the procedure now becomes mandatory and compulsory at the moment of applying for a passport, removing the possibility of not being registered.
What is behind the simplification?
Recent Cabinet initiatives, including simplifying the registration procedure through the "Reserve+" app and creating military registration documents exclusively in electronic format, indicate that the goal is maximum expansion and total control over the country's mobilization resource.
Automation — this is not a gift to citizens, but a technological solution to the problem of personnel shortages and a way to bypass citizens' reluctance to register in person. The state is closing "loopholes" and strengthening its administrative and digital control over men of conscription age, wherever they are. It is a forced, but harsh, step.
