KYIV — Ukraine's government has finalised changes to the system for reserving military-eligible employees, ending unconditional 100% reservation — including at businesses in the energy and defence industries — Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi announced on the Cabinet of Ministers' official website on October 23.

Source: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine statement by PM Serhii Koretskyi, Oct 23, 2026, via Korabelov.info

The Kyiv Post, reporting the same announcement on October 23, said the overhaul effectively ends unconditional 100% deferments for defence and energy companies, targets firms created solely to shield workers from the draft, and ties full exemption to companies regularly sending some employees to serve.

Source: Kyiv Post — Ukraine Ends Blanket Deferments, Ties Full Exemptions to Military Service, Oct 23, 2026

Koretskyi said the number of people with reserved status is growing by tens of thousands each month, while service members who have been defending the country for a fifth year should have the opportunity to return home. "The main task is to ensure fair and clear rules for everyone working on the home front, and above all for those fighting," he said, according to the Cabinet statement.

Source: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine statement, Oct 23, 2026, via Korabelov.info

100%Unconditional reservation being ended — including for defence and energy firms
Dec 1, 2026Date by which the government intends to approve the new full-reservation mechanism
Tens of thousandsGrowth each month in the number of people with reserved status, according to PM Koretskyi

Under the fourth part of the plan, a company will be able to reserve all its employees if it regularly and voluntarily enrols some of them for military service, Koretskyi said. People must know in advance exactly where they will serve and for how long, and they will retain their jobs and salaries. The mechanism will be developed jointly by the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Economy and business representatives.

Source: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine statement, Oct 23, 2026, via Korabelov.info

The changes also revise the criteria for classifying a business as critically important — separating that status from economic performance while keeping priority for defence, energy, communications, logistics and housing and utilities — and the government plans to strengthen penalties for evading military service, the statement said. A business that needs to reserve more staff than the general limit allows will be able to submit a substantiated request to the Coordination Center.

Source: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine statement, Oct 23, 2026, via Korabelov.info

Koretskyi said some companies had been set up specifically to obtain reserved status, turning it into a business, and stressed that the announced decisions do not mean mobilisation will automatically be intensified the very next day. The published statement outlines the main areas of the new system but does not include the full text of the final regulatory act, so the specific rules will depend on the approved documents.

Source: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine statement, Oct 23, 2026, via Korabelov.info