TCs may be disbanded: how mobilization will change, along with the pros and cons of this new initiative.

On Tuesday, November 12, MP and former member of the "Servant of the People" faction Yulia Yatsyk stated that the Temporary Investigative Commission (TIC) of the Verkhovna Rada concluded that there is a need to dissolve the TCK and SP, and instead create recruitment centers staffed by civilians. Additionally, MPs propose to return TCK employees to the army to strengthen the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

"In our report, we suggested disbanding the TCK as an entity and establishing recruitment centers, including among civilians. The personnel of these recruitment centers are military personnel who can effectively carry out their tasks in combat zones," she said.

According to the MP, former TCK employees could form ten brigades (with approximately 3,000 people in each brigade).

MP and secretary of the Rada's National Security Committee Roman Kostenko disagreed with Yatsyk. He believes that without TCK, mobilization would come to a halt. According to his words, there is currently no clear mechanism in Ukraine to replace the work of military enlistment offices.

Dissolution of TCK: How Mobilization Will Change

A member of the TIC, MP from the "European Solidarity" faction Alexey Goncharenko, is one of the initiators of the dissolution of TCK and SP. The politician believes that military enlistment offices should be replaced with recruitment centers staffed by civilians, while individuals with combat experience should take on different tasks. In his view, this initiative will improve the mobilization process in Ukraine.

MP and member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy Mariana Bezuhla stated that if TCK is dissolved, only the recruitment function should remain, administrative responsibilities should be transferred to the CPAU, and a direct call to brigades with centralized monitoring should be introduced, allowing at least 50,000 TCK employees to replenish combat units.

"This is what we need, and it is what we are lacking. Not everyone needs to be turned into soldiers, as there are various administrators, clerks, and similar positions. Some people can be retrained for other specialties," the MP explained.

In her opinion, the reputation of TCK is irreparably damaged, and there are objective reasons for this, not only because enlistment office workers are responsible for the coercive aspect of conscription, but also due to how they conduct mobilization and uphold citizens' rights. Moreover, there is a high level of corruption.

The TCK is embedded within the Ground Forces, has several layers of additional decision-making, often referred to as intermediaries, and only then does the process circle back to the General Staff. If not dissolved, Bezuhla stated, the TCK should be transferred under the personnel center of the General Staff or handed over to the Ministry of Defense for additional oversight components.

Dissolving the TCK is entirely feasible. Specifically, administrative functions can be performed by the CNAP, which can be digitized through "Diiu", "Army+", or "Oberih". Meanwhile, recruitment centers should be developed separately, and thus they should be retained and further expanded, Bezuhla believes.

Currently, the quality of mobilization is declining due to the functioning of TCK and the mistrust in the system, as people are unaware of their military paths. Mobilized individuals are initially trained for certain positions, then inadequately trained and sent to roles.

"This approach simply does not work, and we must recognize that it does not work. Therefore, calling individuals to brigades and easing the transition between units should create an environment where there are leading combat units that are trusted and willing to mobilize individuals not only voluntarily but also ensure additional training, placement, and roles within those units. There are those who will simply drop out and should be completely dissolved because they are ineffective," she clarified.

Bezuhla sees the only path to victory not as a Soviet-style army system but as innovations in combat units. There is currently a gap between the higher military commands, administrative army structures, and the experience available in brigades. It is crucial for horizontal connections to develop as much as possible, and for management principles to be integrated into the Armed Forces, effectively transforming everything into a corporation of national resistance.

"The TCK has no place in this corporation of national resistance, neither ideologically, nor conceptually, nor organizationally," she stated.

The MP emphasized that if trust in conscription is not restored, Ukraine will lose the war.

"That is what I am fighting for. And by the way, I am an opponent of Kostenko, who defends the general staff. He believes this system should remain because it is stable, and during wartime, the army cannot be reformed. But those who change will win. War is a race of reforms," she concluded.

Mobilization Will Stop: How to Recruit Without TCK

"A program has not been developed, and it is impossible to envision how this system will operate in the future," she reported.

When asked if Rodina agrees that mobilization will cease without TCK, she responded that it is possible, as no other programs have been developed and organizations have not been defined to specifically handle the supply of mobilization resources.

"Recruiting is absolutely wonderful. In my opinion, the idea is great, and it really works. But at this moment, it seems to me that it is currently impossible to fully staff military units solely through recruiting," she added.

Military expert, reserve colonel of the AFU Oleg Zhdanov advocates for the reform of TCK rather than its dissolution.

He questions who has analyzed how much mobilization resource recruitment provides compared to TCK. Zhdanov believes that if military enlistment offices are disbanded today, tomorrow frontline fighters will simply go home because there will be no one to staff the army. The expert is convinced that it is necessary first to create an organization to replace TCK, or reform the existing one. TCK should be removed from the Ground Forces and transferred to the Ministry of Defense, transforming them into civilian organizations. As recruitment centers spread, TCK should be reduced or gradually dissolved.

"Today, recruitment centers are gathering fighters for specific brigades, while others constantly complain about the lack of personnel, and there is no one to lead the fight in the trenches," Zhdanov noted.

He emphasized that deputies are businesspeople; they do not think two or three steps ahead.

"So they encountered a problem, society is currently against TCK, so let’s disband them. But what about tomorrow? Tomorrow there will be another problem: who will staff the army? We will solve it later. But who will staff the armed forces while you figure out this problem? That is our enormous issue. This is state management," Zhdanov concluded.

What Military Personnel Think About Dissolving TCK

Major of the AFU, Deputy Commander of the 3rd OShBr Maksim Zhorin called the idea to dissolve TCK and introduce a new civilian structure "empty populism." He believes that instead of solving the problem, they simply want to create a new one in the form of a new structure with unclear status and principles of operation.

"How will it mobilize people, on what basis, is unclear. The issue lies not in the structure called TCK, but in its corruption. So fight corruption, don’t invent new institutions. I am sure they will be just as corrupt and completely ineffective," Zhorin believes.

"We are in a situation where we want to build an army according to NATO standards, but we still have these Soviet segments that are pulling us back. TCK, whatever they may be, are doing just that. We need to focus on recruitment, not bureaucratization," he said.

Yakovlev noted that it is difficult to change what the TCK leaders are doing, but it is necessary to strive to reform the military enlistment offices.

He pointed out that TCK is led by individuals with ranks of major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, and so on. Most are engaged in corruption, making money, and sending combat brigades to the front.

"What benefit do they provide? That is a rhetorical question, but it does not mean they should not be removed. How can an old retired lieutenant colonel, who is 50 years old, handle proper recruitment if he doesn’t know how to use Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and doesn’t understand what native advertising is? You can see that there is no external advertising about the AFU, and there is no explanation regarding what a person will become in the AFU in 5-10 years," the military explained.

According to him, the issue is that there is no effective management of fighters and resource allocation. A fighter does not understand why old sergeants are present, as they do not know what thermal imagers are, nor do they understand the differences in vehicles, and