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By Damien Sharkov
Staff Writer
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Ukraine's parliament approved a bill on Tuesday to allow foreign nationals and stateless people to serve in the Ukrainian armed forces, Kiev-based news agency UNIAN reports.
Since the start of the conflict in the east, numerous "volunteer battalions," often funded by wealthy individuals, have joined both the Ukrainian and separatist side. In April, the government moved to regulate the battalions fighting for Kiev, asking that all volunteer units join the ranks of state regulated authorities or surrender their weapons and leave the conflict zone immediately.
While many volunteer groups have joined and others have disbanded, Kiev's move to standardize all of its armed forces has encountered difficulties. In April, for instance, Al-Jazeera reported reported that some battalions still sometimes acted as private militias for the individuals funding them.
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One of the lawmakers who drafted the bill, Dmitry Tymchuk, told news site Ukrainskaya Pravda that he believed it would lead to the formation of several battalions of foreign nationals and give foreign fighters a legal way to join the war effort.
The bill also stiffens the punishment for funding mercenaries with the intended goal of using them in armed conflicts—an offense that's now punishable by five to 10 years in prison. According to the bill, mercenaries who fight in armed conflicts will face the same punishment. Officials who are found guilty of backing such activities could face a sentence of up to 15 years, if anyone dies as a result of their efforts.
Russia's parliament received news of Ukraine's new law coldly, as lawmaker Leonid Slutsky claimed it could further escalate the conflict, state news agency Itar-Tass reported.
The number of violent clashes in eastern Ukraine have dropped in recent weeks. Russian-backed forces still hold large parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. On Tuesday Ukraine's command center in charge of military activities in the east reported that there had been no ceasefire violations in the last day.
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