President Volodymyr Zelenskyi was outraged by the large number of booked employees, and on October 9, a document was circulated online, according to which the Ministry of Economy, together with the Ministry of Defense and other bodies, decided to prepare and make changes regarding the reservation of employees.
The next day, the First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Ivan Gavryliuk, announced the audit, which should take place by November 15. According to the audit, «critical enterprises» of Ukraine will be checked to confirm their status.
At the same time, Gavryliuk denied the suspension of the booking, which was previously reported in the media, but noted that the booking of employees can be revised if the enterprise turns out to be «not critical for the state».
On October 23, it became known that the Cabinet of Ministers changed the procedure for determining critical enterprises, allowing them to be checked for compliance with the established criteria, and allowed cancellation of reservations for enterprises.
Currently, bookings at all businesses and institutions have been halted, and while the audit is ongoing, at least 40,000 conscripts have already been identified as booked with violations. «At least 20% of companies after the audit will most likely lose the status of critical enterprises,» said an official from the President’s team, who spoke privately with journalists on October 25.
On October 26, it became known that the government of Ukraine partially resumed the reservation of conscripts. Employees who received the status of reserved until May 31, 2024, will be able to extend the reservation period by a similar period without hindrance. The relevant protocol decision proposed by the First Deputy Minister of Defense was approved at the Government meeting on October 25.