Blocking bank cards and driving licences for draft dodgers is only being discussed for now – "Servant of People" Fediienko
The idea of blocking bank cards and driving licences for those evading military service is still only at the discussion stage.
Oleksandr Fediienko, an MP from the Servant of the People faction and a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, said this in a comment to Censor.NET.
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"This is only being discussed right now. They have simply returned to the same ideas that were once already in parliament. We are explaining that this is a very complicated matter in terms of getting it passed in the session hall. MPs most likely will not vote for it. After all, not all MPs even understand what war is. For some reason, some of them have already started preparing for elections.
I do not understand why. I always tell my colleagues: 'Maybe you should at least go to Kramatorsk to understand what war is and that it will last for a long time yet. There is no point now in flirting with the electorate. We need to preserve the country.' But every MP has the right to their own view and expression of will. So I believe this matter is very likely not to pass in parliament," he said.
According to the MP, discussions are currently underway about the need to do something about those evading service.
"Servicemen come to our committee and say: 'Why have I been fighting for the fifth or seventh year, while they (draft dodgers - Ed.) are hiding somewhere?! Let’s do something.'
The same appeals are made to the Defense Ministry, whose representatives tell us: 'We need a tool to motivate people to join Ukraine’s Defense Forces.' And now everyone has again recalled that old story about bank cards, driving licences, and so on. But all of this is currently purely at the stage of a superficial "brainstorming," Fediienko explained.
Asked whether he personally supports blocking the bank cards and driving licences of draft dodgers, the politician said:
"This issue needs to be discussed. But we need to create a mechanism that will provide answers to the questions raised by servicemen. When I visit the front, they tell me different stories. For example, a serviceman’s wife used his car, violated traffic rules, failed to pay the fine on time, and the enforcement service blocked the serviceman’s card. In reality, that is very offensive. They ask: 'Why are draft dodgers and AWOL soldiers running around freely, and nothing like this happens to them?!' This is a social challenge we have to work with. As for how to do it properly, no one knows for sure today. There is no universal answer here. By the way, I am already being credited with proposing the creation of some kind of register of draft dodgers. I never said anything of the sort! But this information is spreading through Telegram channels, everyone is calling me, and the Defense Ministry is issuing a denial, saying that no registers need to be created. They already exist. The same Oberih system contains all persons liable for military service."
Speaking about whether blocking draft dodgers’ cards, if approved by parliament, would trigger a wave of lawsuits over rights violations, the MP stressed: "The Defense Ministry has said it discussed this issue with judges. There is a legal position that such cases would have no prospects in court. But in general, it seems to me that we should be fighting not the state, but the enemy."
