UKRAINE, Sep. 18 — President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed into law a bill establishing a position of military ombudsman. On Sep. 17, Ukraine’s Parliament passed this draft law in the second reading, said a people’s deputy, Yaroslav Zhelezniak.

Since the beginning of September, military personnel, veterans, and activists have been calling for protests across different cities on social media because of the registered bills that impose punishments for soldiers disobeying orders. One of the protesters’ demands was to adopt a bill on the military ombudsman.

The military ombudsman will deal with complaints from military personnel regarding non-payment of their salaries, refusal of transfers between units, denial of leave, and other violations.

Rustem Umerov, a former Minister of Defence, announced the launch of the position of military ombudsman in November 2024.

In May 2025, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy registered a bill №13266 to establish a position of a military ombudsman. The bill has been stuck in parliament since June 2025.

People in Kharkiv have protested thrice to express dissent with the bills that, according to the organizers and participants, discriminate against the military. Most of those bills are still on the parliament’s agenda.

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