Reservation in Ukraine: which enterprises are critical and who can get a deferral from mobilization
Kyiv • UNN
The National Security and Defense Council instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to improve the criteria for determining critical enterprises for reserving employees. Employees of heating companies, water utilities, and other critical enterprises will be able to receive a deferral from mobilization.
The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) has instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to improve the criteria for determining enterprises, institutions and organizations as critical to the needs of the Defense Forces during a special period, as well as to introduce the possibility of booking employees of heating companies, water utilities and household waste management. UNN describes the criteria for determining a critical enterprise and who can receive a reservation.
Yesterday, on February 5, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Decree No. 69/2025, under which the National Security and Defense Council instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to improve the criteria for determining enterprises, institutions and organizations as critical to the needs of the Defense Forces during a special period, with respect to:
- enterprises, institutions and organizations authorized by the Ministry of Defense to perform the function of the state customer service in the field of defense for the purpose of defense procurement and conclusion of state contracts (agreements) for the procurement of goods, works and services;
- enterprises, institutions and organizations that, on the basis of contracts concluded with military units, other military formations and higher military educational institutions, produce (supply) goods, perform work and provide services, the list, quantity (volume) and cost of which are determined by the Ministry of Defense;
- establishing the specifics of determining the criticality of the economic functioning and ensuring the livelihoods of the population during the special period for business entities - producers of electricity and heat, which include production facilities that were destroyed or damaged as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, in particular, the non-application of the criterion of absence of arrears in the payment of taxes to the state and local budgets and the single contribution to the compulsory state social insurance to such entitie
The decree also instructs the Cabinet of Ministers to introduce the possibility of booking for the period of martial law the employees of heating companies, water utilities and household waste management in the amount of no more than 75% of the total number of employees of such companies who are liable for military service.
In addition, today, February 6, the Verkhovna Rada registered a draft law that would classify mobile operators as critical enterprises.
Booking
Reservation is a postponement of military service during mobilization, which is granted to employees to ensure their functioning during a special period.
In May last year, the so-called “mobilization law” came into force, which defines who is eligible for deferment, but the procedure and organization of reservations, criteria, list of positions and professions, as well as the amount of reservations for persons liable for military service are determined by the Cabinet of Ministers.
According to Government Decree No. 76, enterprises that are critical to the functioning of the economy and the livelihoods of the population during a special period, as well as critical to meeting the needs of the Armed Forces and other military formations during a special period, may be eligible for reservation.
Critically important enterprise
To obtain this status, the company must meet the following criteria (3 criteria are sufficient):
- the total amount of taxes, duties, payments to the state and local budgets, except for customs duties, and the amount of the single contribution to the obligatory state social insurance during the reporting tax year exceeds the equivalent of EUR 1.5 million;
- the amount of foreign currency receipts, excluding loans and borrowings, for the tax year under review exceeds the equivalent of EUR 32 million;
- the enterprise, institution, organization is of strategic importance for the economy and security of the state (a detailed list can be found at link);
- the enterprise, institution, or organization is important for the national economy or for meeting the needs of the territorial community (determined by local authorities);
- no tax arrears to the state and local budgets;
- the enterprise, institution, organization is a resident of Diia City;
- the average salary must be at least UAH 20 thousand for the reporting period.
Which enterprises in Ukraine are critical
Critical enterprises defined by the government include:
- UN specialized agencies, foreign diplomatic missions in Ukraine, foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine, and representative offices of international organizations according to the list approved by the MFA;
- representative offices of donor agencies, implementers of international technical assistance projects according to the list approved by the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine;
- the research service of the Verkhovna Rada, as well as enterprises that are managed by state property management bodies;
- religious organizations according to the list and criteria approved by the SES;
- mine action operators.
The government recently passed a decision allowing for the booking of employees who carry out emergency repair work on gas distribution systems as part of emergency teams and maintain trouble-free operation of gas supply systems, as well as employees of companies engaged in international transportation of passengers and/or goods.
The government has provided an opportunity to book gas companies10.01.25, 15:35 • 29533 views
Critical enterprises for the Defense Forces
The Ministry of Defense may separately determine the criticality of an enterprise:
- enterprises that execute state contracts for the procurement of defense goods, works and services concluded with the Ministry of Defense;
- are involved as co-executors and participate in the implementation of state contracts for the purchase, supply, repair and modernization of weapons, military and special equipment, weapons and ammunition;
- provide training, retraining and advanced training of drone operators, but a prerequisite is at least 100 trained pilots of unmanned aerial systems in the last 12 months;
- provide training, retraining and advanced training in electronic warfare;
- provide training, retraining and advanced training for military personnel in first aid;
- charitable organizations engaged in the production/purchase of goods, performance of works and provision of services necessary to meet the needs of the Armed Forces, if their volume for the last 12 months prior to the date of application is at least UAH 10 million of assistance per person liable for military service proposed for reservation.
Who else can be booked
All persons liable for military service are subject to reservation:
- who hold civil service positions of category “A”;
- who hold positions of full-time employees of patronage services of state bodies;
- who hold the positions of heads of regional, district, Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administrations (military administrations, if established);
- holding civil service positions of category “B”, but temporarily entrusted with the performance of duties for a vacant civil service position of category “A”;
- who hold the positions of chairmen of regional, district, and rayon councils, village, town, and city mayors;
- employees of critical institutions that include regular national teams of Olympic, non-Olympic sports and sports of persons with disabilities, the list of which is approved by the Ministry of Youth and Sports;
- who hold the positions of prosthetists, prosthetics technicians, prosthetics technologists, prosthetics engineers, prosthetics engineers, mechanics of prosthetic and orthopedic products, provided that they have fulfilled at least 50 percent of the working time standard during the last three months preceding the date of submission of the list with the appropriate justification;
- healthcare workers of state and municipal healthcare facilities, public healthcare facilities, institutions engaged in forensic medical and forensic psychiatric examinations, blood centers, for whom work in the relevant institutions is the main place of employment;
- who hold the positions of prosecutors of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
Reservations are also required for persons liable for military service:
- work or serve in civil service positions of categories B and C - 50 percent of the number of persons liable for military service in these categories;
- work or serve in state authorities, other state bodies, the National Police, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the State Bureau of Investigation, prosecutor's offices, the BES, the State Emergency Service, the State Criminal Executive Service, the Judicial Protection Service, courts, justice system institutions and pre-trial investigation bodies (50% of the number of persons liable for military service).
Persons liable for military service at enterprises, institutions and organizations critical to the economy are booked for up to 12 months.
For employees of international organizations, the deferral is valid for no more than the term of the agreement (contract) or the term for which they are appointed.
What will happen after February 28
In November last year, the Cabinet of Ministers published updated rules for reservations for persons liable for military service during mobilization and martial law.
For all those who have already received a draft deferment, it remains valid until the end of the term for which it was granted. But there is a limitation: no deferment will be valid longer than February 28, 2025. This applies to both deferrals issued by the Ministry of Economy and those issued through the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services.
In December, the Ministry of Economy resumed granting the criticality status to enterprises for booking employees according to updated criteria.
From January 22 to March 1, Ukraine will simplify the rebooking of employees liable for military service through the Diia portal. Critical enterprises can apply for reservation without waiting 72 hours.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development and Minister of Digital Transformation, previously reported that the current reservation is valid until February 28, 2025, but you can cancel it in advance and make a new one without interruption.
The algorithm on the Diia portal is the same:
- go to the citizen's account and choose to submit an application;
- specify the data of candidates for booking;
- confirm that the employee's salary is more than UAH 20 thousand;
- check the application and sign it.
