The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has amended the regulations governing the mobilization of conscripts during wartime, introducing provisions to allow clergy members to be exempt from military service, according to Resolution No. 1498, issued on December 26.
Clergy from religious organizations will now be eligible for deferments from mobilization based on a list of positions approved by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS).
Under the new rules, up to 50% of clergy from each religious organization may be exempted from mobilization. Unlike employees of critical enterprises, who must earn at least 20,000 UAH monthly to qualify for deferral, this salary requirement does not apply to clergy members.
Currently, there is no universal mechanism for clergy members to automatically receive exemptions from mobilization.
Ukraine’s largest religious organizations include the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that Russia killed at least 50 priests and destroyed 700 churches with missiles and bombs.
