In recent months, the topic of economic reservation from mobilization has practically faded away. While last year members of parliament, government officials, and even the president discussed possible parameters and details, today this topic is barely mentioned.
“I agree that it looks very strange: for two years, economic reservation was actively discussed, with hints that it would soon be adopted, that it was just a matter of finalizing nuances. And then, suddenly, it's forgotten. Just like that, no hints, as if the topic had never been raised. Why it was brought into the public space only to later pretend nothing happened—I don’t fully understand. But I can say for certain that the topic of economic reservation from mobilization is closed for the foreseeable future”, - a "Servant of the People" MP told OstroV on condition of anonymity.
According to another parliamentary source, although economic reservation has been forgotten, this is a forced and temporary measure tied to U.S. policy.
“Right now, we have to rely on ourselves as much as possible. And while Europe supports us economically and there are seemingly no issues with that, things are not as smooth militarily. That’s why not only has economic reservation from mobilization been postponed, but they even forgot about the draft law on service terms, which was supposed to be introduced last fall. The military leadership can’t risk troop numbers. It’s no coincidence that russia is already openly demanding an end to mobilization”, - the source told OstroV.
At the same time, the source does not rule out that economic reservation may return later. According to him, it could be introduced as part of the regular reservation system for employees, which is already in place.
Everything was almost ready
Back in early October of last year, Deputy Minister of Economy Vitalii Kindrativ assured members of parliament during a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Finance Committee that the decision to introduce economic reservation had been made. Allegedly, to implement it, it was necessary to vote for a tax increase and introduce monthly reporting for personal income tax (PIT) instead of the current quarterly system.
“He said that they would definitely implement the economic reservation model. The decision had been made. Several models (three) are currently being considered. They're waiting for a ‘decision from the political leadership’”, - MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak relayed the deputy minister’s words.
According to him, the Ministry of Economy planned a shift from the “criticality of the enterprise” to the “criticality of the employee”.
“Supposedly for a year, but with monthly salary confirmation”, - Zhelezniak added.
According to several MPs who spoke with OstroV, the introduction of new tax reporting and increased taxes was quietly presented solely as a basis for economic reservation.
“I think many wouldn’t have supported a tax hike and added bureaucratic burden if they had known there would be no economic reservation. In a sense, this was manipulation. We've already seen something similar when the law strengthening mobilization was passed: back then, MPs were ‘enticed’ with service term limits and the promise of demobilization, which the government never followed through on”, - OstroV’s source noted.
Later, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak confirmed that the added bureaucratic burden for businesses had been introduced in vain.
“When I talk about the absolute absence of an economic wing in our government, I often use this example: when the decision to raise taxes was made, the Ministry of Economy stated that we were introducing economic reservation from mobilization, but to do so we needed to receive monthly salary reports, not quarterly. At the time, I, along with other colleagues—including representatives from ‘Servant of the People’ and other committees—spent an hour and a half defending the position that this was absolute idiocy, as it significantly increased the paperwork and reporting load for businesses.
The Deputy Minister of Economy stated on record that we are definitely implementing this model, that it had been coordinated with the highest political leadership, and asked MPs to vote. I won’t comment on whom the Cabinet of Ministers considers its highest political leadership or how brazen this move was, but in the end, the parliament passed the decision by majority vote, which quadrupled the reporting burden on businesses. And nothing happened with economic reservation, those criteria turned out to be unnecessary. All that work and additional bureaucratic pressure were for nothing”, - he said in February 2025.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky raised the issue of economic reservation multiple times and announced its implementation, but at the end of October 2024, his rhetoric changed, and he stated that economic reservation should be fair, but it is difficult to find balance right now.
“Economic reservation from mobilization must be fair. Finding that fairness is the task of the Ministry of Economy and the Prime Minister. I don’t find the models they showed me entirely fair yet. Because it’s hard to choose one profession without choosing others. There should be different criteria. As for critical infrastructure and professions without which the army simply wouldn’t survive during war—that’s already been implemented”, - he said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists.
According to OstroV, various models of economic reservation were developed by the Ministry of Economy with the involvement of the Ministry of Digital Transformation. However, none of the models presented to the president appealed to him.
“At some point, it was decided not to push the topic at all, because the term ‘economic reservation’ itself seemed to trigger irritation. How do you explain it to the public when the war continues, negotiations yield no result, demobilization has been forgotten, and U.S. military aid is about to stop or be drastically reduced? And that’s despite the fact that representatives of the General Staff and Ministry of Defense immediately made it clear they didn’t support any model of economic reservation—‘it’s not the time for this’. So the military wasn’t even consulted”, - a source from the president’s team told OstroV.
It was after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election that the topic of economic reservation completely faded away.
On pause
Yaroslav Zhelezniak stated that the issue of implementing economic reservation was removed from the agenda personally by Volodymyr Zelensky.
"All government representatives tell us that the issue of economic reservation was taken off the agenda personally by the president. For some reason, judging by his statements, I believe it", - he said.
The MP believes that no significant changes should be expected in the reservation system and it will remain at the current level.
"I'm not dealing with this, it's not my responsibility, and moreover, it's not even the responsibility of the parliament. It's at the government's discretion. But I haven't heard of them trying to change anything", - the lawmaker emphasized.
According to OstroV, the Office of the President abandoned economic reservation also due to an information campaign that portrayed it as a division between "the poor, who can be mobilized", and "the rich, who can buy their way out".
"Polls and surveys were conducted, including among the military, and everywhere it was perceived negatively, especially against the backdrop of the lowered mobilization age. Economic reservation needed to be introduced right away. Only then it could have worked. But now the idea has already burned out and can only be implemented under a different 'sauce'. I once overheard an interesting conversation between a pro-government MP and an influential official from the President’s Office, who explained that economic reservation is already working as is, and the fact that it’s not accessible to everyone — well, that’s just details", - a source in the president’s team told OstroV.
At the same time, the idea of expanding regular reservation has not been abandoned yet. From time to time, news appears about minor relaxations or expansion of categories falling under reservation criteria.
OstroV’s source in the Verkhovna Rada believes that the very phrasing of "economic reservation from mobilization" is perceived negatively by society, and against the backdrop of talks about potential elections (sooner or later), the authorities are unlikely to dare to implement it in its current form.
"But we discussed with some colleagues that economic reservation could become part of regular reservation. To do this, it’s enough to make a few changes to the government’s resolution on reservation — and that’s it, no one will even notice. As far as I know, this option is being worked on. And it makes sense. Right now, sole proprietors basically cannot get reserved, and it’s specifically for them that the so-called 'economic reservation' will be implemented, though it will no longer be called that. Sole proprietors who currently pay 5% and the single social contribution will simply add an additional tax in the form of a fixed amount, for example, 20,000 hryvnias per month (2.5 minimum wages), and in this way, they will be allowed to reserve. But there will be limitations — for instance, it won’t apply to newly created sole proprietors or will only cover certain activity codes. The issue is still being worked through", - the source noted.
What is definitely not being planned, the source added, is the possibility of reservation for those who do not pay taxes at all (neither as sole proprietors nor as employees).
"This is now the government's main strategy: maximum control and taxes, taxes, and more taxes. Believe me, taxes on sales through online platforms (OLX, Rozetka) — that’s just the beginning. Right now, there is painstaking work underway on which other sectors can be additionally taxed, where taxes can be raised or certain fees introduced. So any expansion of reservation, if it happens, will definitely be tied to taxes", - he emphasized.
Regular reservation: issues
While work continues either on expanding reservation or implementing the economic model, employers and employees are complaining about the current difficulties with regular reservation.
Since April 1, 2025, all previously issued deferrals have lost their validity, and in order to extend them, enterprises had to confirm their critical status according to the new criteria and reapply for deferrals.
Let us recall that the new reservation procedure came into force back on December 1, 2024. Initially, employers were given time until March 1 to reprocess the documents, but since many did not manage to do this in time, the government met them halfway and extended the transition period until April 1. It is worth noting that those who did not manage to reapply for reservation did not lose the right to apply for a deferral for their employees. But until the new reservation is confirmed, territorial recruitment centers (TRCs) have the full right to mobilize such a person.
"This is a kind of 'window' for TRC staff when they can issue a summons and mobilize employees. All data is available electronically, so it's very easy to find such people. I know colleagues who prepared in advance and issued summonses to entire enterprises, understanding that they wouldn't have time to re-reserve by April 1. After all, it’s much easier than catching people in courtyards or at the subway", - one of the staff members of a capital TRC told OstroV.
The main problem with reapplying for reservation lies in the fact that it has become more difficult for enterprises to obtain critical status. Although the government has indeed simplified the reservation process as much as possible and moved it to an electronic format, obtaining the “critical” status has become practically impossible for many enterprises. As several directors of enterprises involved in the production of defense products told OstroV, even when submitting all the necessary documents, they are not officially denied — they are simply ignored and the process is delayed.
Let us recall that in order to reserve their employees, an enterprise must first obtain or update its critical status according to new mandatory criteria:
1. The average salary at the enterprise must be at least 2.5 times the minimum wage (20,000 UAH — as of May 2025). In addition, the salary of the specific employee the enterprise wants to reserve must also be no less than this amount.
For state and municipal enterprises, as well as those equated to them, there is an exception in place: the required salary must not be lower than the average salary in the region for the fourth quarter of 2021 (according to data from the State Statistics Service).
In fact, this can be called nothing other than a disguised attempt to implement the idea of “economic reservation”: additional funds in the form of taxes are coming in, but such reservation does not apply to everyone who wants it.
2. The enterprise must not have any outstanding debts in payment of all taxes (previously only debt on the single social contribution was considered).
3. The third criterion the enterprise can choose independently from those listed in Resolution No. 76 or in regional or sectoral criteria.
Employees eligible for reservation must:
— be registered for military service;
— be in an employment relationship with a government body or a critically important enterprise (institution);
— hold a position at a critically important enterprise or institution where the monthly salary is at least 20,000 UAH (excluding state and municipal enterprises);
— have updated their personal data at the TRC or through the “Rezerv+” app;
— not be listed as wanted.
However, there are also problems with reserving specific employees precisely because of the last two points — updating data and being listed as wanted. During re-reservation, many employees suddenly appear with “wanted” status in the “Rezerv+” app. In such a status, it is extremely difficult to reserve the person — this has to be done manually, and there is a high probability of such a person being mobilized while going through the re-reservation process.
“Lately, it’s become common practice for reserved people to suddenly show up as wanted. And there’s nothing you can prove to anyone. A patrol stops you, sees your status — and it no longer matters whether you have a reservation or another type of deferral, they’ll take you to the TRC. It's not guaranteed they'll mobilize you, but at the very least they’ll fine you, although anything can happen”, - said one of the employees at a defense enterprise.
By Andrii Andrieev, journalist for OstroV