Servant of the People MPs asked not to comment on contentious new mobilization bill
MPs from the Servant of the People faction were advised to avoid commenting on the new bill on mobilization, which was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada for discussion the day before, three sources in the presidential party told LIGA.net.
According to the sources, the request concerns communications with the mass media, as well as public and personal comments on the provisions of the draft law.
The faction emphasized the need to follow the same line with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in "sensitive issues", therefore "mobilization with society should be communicated by the military, from whom this request comes."
Sources in the faction emphasized that the legislators should refrain from commenting until the military leadership begins to talk about the provisions of the draft law and explain to the people why certain norms are being proposed.
"The one who developed the draft law will always explain better than the one who just read the comparison chart to the draft law," Yulia Paliychuk, head of the press service of the Servant of the People faction, told LIGA.net.
She added that this is exactly why one or another initiative should be presented by its author or someone who worked on it.
According to Paliychuk, this is "correct for the developers and it is professional for the readers and viewers who should get information from primary sources."
"As journalists, you are interested in receiving complete and objective information. We are also interested in quality communication with society, with the help of people who have spent many hours discussing this issue," she concluded.
On December 19, President Zelenskyy said that the military is asking to mobilize another 450,000-500,000 people to the armed forces.
Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security Council, then clarified that this is not a one-time mobilization, but a plan for the year.
On Monday, the Cabinet of Ministers registered a bill in the Verkhovna Rada, which provides for changes to some legislative acts regarding the improvement of certain issues of mobilization, military registration and military service.