Photo: The launch of the “Obereg” registry should simplify mobilization (Getty Images) Author: Danila Kramarenko
An electronic Register of Persons liable for Military Service “Obereg” has been launched in Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, territorial recruitment centers (TRC), and other structures have access to it, and those liable for military service can only check their data, for which they need to contact the TRC.
Read more about “Obereg”, how it works and how it will affect mobilization, in the RBC-Ukraine article.
In preparing the material, we used: an interview with the Speaker of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vladimir Fityo and Deputy Prime Minister for Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov for RBC-Ukraine, an interview with Deputy Minister of Defense Ekaterina Chernogorenko for DOU, bill No. 10062, a statement by Deputy Minister of Defense Natalya Kalmykova.
Content
- What is an “Amulet” and why is it needed?
- At what stage and how complete is the register?
- What will the launch of the register of persons liable for military service change?
- What data is entered into the “Amulet” and where is it taken from?
- How does Amulet work and who has access?
- If the data is not in the registry, the TCC will not “see” the person?
What is an “Amulet” and why is it needed?
The history of the Unified State Register of Conscripts, Persons liable for Military Service and Reservists began in March 2017 with the adoption of the relevant law. Formally, the register was launched back in March 2022, but without a complete database.
When taking up the post of Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov said in early September that the meaning of “Amulets” is the complete digitalization of processes in order to transfer everything to digital: from an electronic ticket to documents of military medical commissions. In addition, the register will make any corruption risks impossible.
The Unified Register is an electronic information system for collecting, storing, processing and using data, created to ensure military registration of citizens of Ukraine.
His tasks:
- maintaining military records
- planning and implementation of mobilization and contracting measures
- information support for military pensioners and family members of the deceased with information about military registration
Regional TCCs and operational commands have been identified as administrators of the registry. It is filled by regional and city recruitment centers.
It is expected that thanks to Amulet it will be possible to quickly identify Ukrainians who are not registered with the military.
At what stage and how long is the “Amulets” filled?
Back in the fall, the Ukrainian media wrote about the actual readiness of “Obereg” and that the majority of Ukrainians liable for military service were already on the register. This was particularly facilitated by the digitalization of processes based on the Diya service.
The speaker of the Ground Forces, Vladimir Fityo, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, said that “Obereg” has already started working.
“But it is not yet synchronized with other state registers. When the corresponding bill is adopted, in most cases the need for warning measures will simply disappear, because different existing databases will be synchronized,” he noted.
Deputy Minister of Defense for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization Ekaterina Chernogorenko clarifies that “Obereg” is a database of military personnel who can be mobilized. And there is no data on active military personnel there.
She compares it to a passport registry or a unified demographic registry with personal information of Ukrainians. Data is currently being exchanged with large government registries.
“The planned work on it (“Amulet” – ed.) has been completed, we have increased the register by 750 thousand entries, verified the data to 88%,” added Chernorenko.
What will the launch of the Register of Persons Responsible for Military Service change?
Once the databases are synchronized, in most cases there will be no need for alerting measures.
“We will see, for example, that a citizen was registered in Kyiv, but now he works in Lvov, because the tax on his salary – personal income tax – is paid to the Lychakiv district of the city of Lvov. Accordingly, then there will simply be an appeal to the owner of his enterprise, of any form property that this citizen needs to appear at the Lychakivsky TCC in the city of Lvov. And the head of the enterprise will be obliged to personally deliver this person liable for military service to the TCC and SP,” said Vladimir Fityo.
Before this, the electronic database in the TCC made it possible to carry out measures to alert people anywhere in the country, that is, for example, a person from Sumy could be served with a summons in Odessa. Now the digitized case can be seen by the TCC in another region. There is no synchronization with other registries yet. As soon as this works, all issues with visiting sports clubs, restaurants, and serving summonses at checkpoints will disappear.
“This will simplify the mobilization of resources – both human and transport, and much more. We are now spending a very large amount of human resources on the implementation of warning measures,” added the representative of the Ground Forces.
Ekaterina Chernogorenko notes that “Obereg” is designed to reduce corruption, the possibility of data manipulation, and to avoid cases where subpoenas are repeatedly sent to those who are already fighting.
“Our end user is not only a person liable for military service, he is an employee of the TCC and joint venture, who must be a superman in working with data, in working with people, and be service-oriented,” she noted.
In addition, according to her, the Cabinet of Ministers is being offered to launch the possibility of military registration through the Centers for the Provision of Administrative Services. And on the basis of Obereg, new electronic services will be launched, for example, for booking those liable for military service.
What data is entered into the “Amulet” and where is it taken from?
The register contains information about all conscripts, those liable for military service and reservists aged from 18 to 60 years (from 17 years old if bill No. 10062 is adopted).
The following data is entered into it:
- Full name, date and place of birth, gender, citizenship
- place of residence and stay
- marital status (presence of children)
- education, profession, place of work
- health status
- military specialty
The register also includes information about parents, details of internal and foreign passports, TIN, digitized image of a person, data on travel abroad, criminal records, and so on.
If the Verkhovna Rada passes bill No. 10062, this list will be supplemented with telephone numbers, email addresses, information on knowledge of foreign languages, the right to own weapons and a driver’s license. As of December 2023, the document has only passed the first reading.
The “Talisman” is filled with data from other registries. At the first stage, there is interaction with the bases of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Science and the State Judicial Administration. At the next stages, information exchange is established with the registers of the Pension Fund, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Policy and other departments.
One of the key ones is the Register of Individual Taxpayers. It has been collecting information since 1994, it is the most complete and is capable of providing verification of data in other registries.
Please note that the consent of those liable for military service for the processing of personal data for “Obereg” is not required. At the same time, Ukrainians must provide only reliable information about themselves.
How does Amulet work and who has access?
Before the launch of “Amulet”, all information about a person at the military registration and enlistment office was stored in “folders”. And the first task was to digitize the folders, enter them into the system so that the information would be available online.
“And when you come to the military registration and enlistment office, so that it’s all in your file and you don’t have to look for this information. Then it’s immediately clear to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in real time what’s going on with mobilization, and how many people are liable for military service, and where they are we studied – that is, in order to make some kind of forecasting,” Deputy Prime Minister for Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov explained to RBC-Ukraine.
In fact, we are talking about automating the work of the TCC, which will remove queues, windows and the like. On the other hand, we are talking about quality data that will make it possible to make decisions about how many people to mobilize, who exactly is needed, and so on.
According to Fedorov, now when getting married, a man must notify the military registration and enlistment office about this. The registry will allow you to receive such data automatically. That is, you do not need to come to the TCC every time in order to notify it of such changes.
In simple words, there is no interface for communication between people and military registration and enlistment offices through the registry. “Obereg” only automates the communication between a TCC employee and a person liable for military service, since there is no need to “run and take the folder with documents.”
The Ministry of Defense, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Foreign Intelligence Service, as well as the TCC have access to the register.
If data about a person is entered for the first time, a separate entry number is generated in the “Amulet”, the time, date and information about who made the entry are recorded. Data in electronic cards about each person must be stored for life and are deleted after 105 years from the date of birth.
The TCC operator does not have direct access to other registers, but only creates a specific request through Obereg. For example, if a student needs to bring a certificate from the place of study, he now needs to contact the university, get a document with a stamp, and then go to the TCC. The unified register will allow you to check, upon request, whether this person is actually a full-time student and has the right to a deferment.
As for access of those liable for military service to the register, today there is only the opportunity to check information about themselves. Moreover, to do this you need to personally contact the TCC and submit a written request.
Bill No. 10062 contains a provision that those liable for military service will have access to the “Amulet” through an electronic account. And even then it will be possible to remotely check data and submit information about yourself to the TCC.
If the data is not in the registry, the TCC will not “see” the person?
Not certainly in that way. As Deputy Minister of Defense Natalya Kalmykova stated, it is possible to identify those liable for military service, even if they have not updated the data in the TCC or are not in Obereg.
“Even if a person is not in the Register of Persons liable for Military Service, there are other registers that we will use in any case (to identify – ed.),” she said and noted that everyone in the modern world leaves a digital trace.
For example, the Ministry of Health will transmit data on phone number, email, information about health status – everything that the family doctor entered into the database.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs will transmit the following information:
- presence (absence) of a criminal record
- vehicle ownership information
- driver's license information
- weapons permit
The State Tax Service will provide information about work (enterprise code, place of work, position). The Ministry of Education – about where a man studies, when he completes his studies, and whether he receives a second higher education.
In addition, the system will have an electronic account, an electronic military ID and an electronic account book. Thanks to the exchange of data, Amulet will display what services a person uses and where he is located. According to Kalmykova, in fact, those liable for military service will be able to be tracked online.
“Such measures are extremely necessary. With the help of the Oberig system, we will know what services a person uses and where he is. We will also have all the information that is in the Diya application and even more: buying a car, where the man works, vaccinations, whether he is receiving a second higher education, where he lives, information about his parents and marital status,” she added.
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