On October 24, 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved new rules for reserving military personnel for enterprises deemed critical, particularly in the energy and defense sectors.
Main Changes in Reservation Rules
According to the new regulations, the reservation limit for enterprises in the energy and defense sectors is reduced from 100% to 95%. The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine clarifies that workers directly involved in production, fulfilling defense contracts, and conducting repair and emergency recovery work must be fully reserved.
Procedure and Criteria for Reservation
The government has established a Coordination Center to address the recognition of enterprises as critical. Ministries and regional military administrations are required to review the criteria for recognizing the criticality of enterprises within 10 days after the new rules come into effect. Importantly, the status of a critical enterprise will not be automatically reviewed if the criteria remain unchanged.
- Critical enterprises retain their status if their criteria do not change.
- The Coordination Center will consider requests for recognizing enterprises as critical.
- Processing times for requests: up to one month, in urgent cases — up to seven working days.
Impact on Personnel and Support Staff
The reduction in the reservation limit will primarily affect auxiliary and support staff. When calculating the limit, workers who already have deferrals from mobilization for other reasons, such as large families and guardians, will also be taken into account.