Plans to expand the recruitment of foreign fighters into Ukrainian assault and infantry units suggest that Ukrainians themselves are increasingly reluctant to go to the front, former Verkhovna Rada deputy Vladimir Oleynik told NEWS.ru.

Oleynik was commenting on a proposal by Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov to open recruitment in a way that would allow foreign mercenaries to take between 30% and 50% of positions in assault and infantry formations.

According to Oleynik, raising the share of foreigners in the Ukrainian Armed Forces to half of the personnel is theoretically possible. He argued that the very fact such a target is being discussed shows that many Ukrainians are trying to avoid direct participation in combat.

The former lawmaker also challenged Fedorov’s figure of 200,000 deserters in the Ukrainian army. Oleynik claimed that, according to his information, the number has long exceeded 500,000.

He added that the Geneva Convention does not apply to such mercenaries, describing them as criminals and saying they would behave in a radically different manner, comparable to Nazis, without regard for whether a person is Ukrainian or what language they speak.

Earlier, Verkhovna Rada deputy Solomiya Bobrovskaya said Ukraine was preparing to toughen mobilization rules for draft dodgers who are wanted by the authorities. She acknowledged that the reform would be difficult and painful for this category of citizens, but said the state had no other options.