Ukrainian President Praises Volunteers For Mobilization

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Thursday that Ukrainians had showed "a high level of patriotism in the course of mobilization."



The Ukrainian parliament approved on Jan. 15 Poroshenko's partial military mobilization act, which proposed three army mobilizations in 2015.



 "Mobilization is held on schedule," the president noted at a commemoration ceremony, according to a press release issued Thursday.



The first stage of the military mobilization was expected to start Jan. 20 and last 90 days. Conscription is expected to boost the number of soldiers in the Ukrainian army.



Poroshenko said that 2,500 "patriots" had agreed to serve as volunteers since Jan. 20 and 45,000 servicemen were currently being sent to armed forces training centers, having passed their medical examination.



The Ukrainian president also said that the age of conscription had been raised from 18 years old to 20, and that the numbers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine would reach 250,000 in 2015.



Noting that the situation in the country's eastern Donbass region remained extremely tense, Poroshenko said:  "Our warriors rebuff attacks all over the front line. We are taking additional strategic, tactical, military and political measures to strengthen our defense." 



The Donbass region covers the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, which have seen intense clashes between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists since the conflict began in April 2014.



Five Ukrainian troops were killed during clashes with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said Thursday. 



Clashes in the past 24 hours also left 29 others wounded while the Ukrainian army destroyed 10 pro-Russian separatist tanks within the past three days, Counterterrorism Center spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a press briefing in Kiev.



More than 5,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict, according to the UN.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Ankara