Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Ukraine’s national security chief, said during a parliamentary session on Tuesday that the draft would raise the manning levels to 85%, the Kyiv Independent online newspaper reported.

The move comes as Russian forces gradually push the Ukrainian Army back in some sectors of the front. Russia said on Tuesday it had seized control of the town of Selydove in eastern Ukraine, which had a population of 20,000 before the war and had been under sustained attack over the last week.

Ukraine needs to not only find replacements for casualties but also enough new troops to allow soldiers on the line to be rotated out for rest and recuperation.

“There are plans to call up more than 160,000 people,” Lytvynenko said on Tuesday.

He added that since the beginning of martial law in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, some 1,000,050 of its citizens have been drafted into its military so far. The law prohibits men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country, unless they obtain an exemption.

In April, the Ukrainian parliament adopted an updated law to boost the mobilization of troops. The new law was introduced to help identify eligible conscripts and included penalties for those dodging the draft.

According to media reports, Kyiv has been struggling with the mobilization of troops for the frontline to offset soldier casualties. There has also been a growing need to rotate soldiers who have been fighting since the onset of the full-scale war.