Ukraine brings back military conscription

KIEV , Ukraine, May 1 (UPI) -- Ukraine will reinstate military conscription to deal with security issues along its border with Russia, it announced Thursday.

Acting President Olexander Turchynov announced the action in a decree, noting “the deteriorating situation in the east and the south” and “the rising force of armed pro-Russian units and the taking of public administration buildings.”

Ukraine’s parliament voted on Apr. 17 to recommend conscription to enlarge its military force, which now has about 130,000 members. With reserve units, the number could grow to about one million. About 40,000 Russian troops are believed to be massed at the Ukrainian border.

The announcement came after Turchynov referred to his Kiev government as “powerless” to stop pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine from taking over public buildings.

A law obligating compulsory military service in Ukraine was abolished in 2013 under a law introduced by then-President Viktor Yanukovych.