Ukraine will not lower the age limit for conscription for the war against Russia, despite calls from its key ally the United States. On Thursday, a high-ranking official of Kyiv informed AFP about this, writes TASR.
Washington is urging Kiev to consider conscription of men from the age of 18 instead of the current 25, which would solve the shortage of forces at the front. “Our position is clear, we will not lower the age limit for mobilization,” an unnamed Ukrainian official told AFP.
Army recruiters are still roaming the streets of big cities, searching bars and restaurants, for example, in order to they checked whether able-bodied men of the required age had registered with the military authorities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi this year reduced the professional age from 27 to 25 years. However, it continues to resist calls to push the bar even lower.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in October that Ukraine “must, in our view, do more to strengthen its (front) lines in terms of troop numbers”.
An unnamed senior official in outgoing US President Joe Biden’s administration also warned in November that Ukraine was struggling with an “existential” recruitment crisis. “We think it would be appropriate for her to consider lowering the draft age to 18,” said an American official, referring to the current minimum age limit in the US, writes AFP.
Instead, Kiev is pushing the West to provide the country with more weapons and better weapons to defend against a Russian invasion. “The army must be technologically advanced and have enough weapons. We will not compensate for the lack of weapons or the short range with young men.” said a Ukrainian official.
“This is not the First World War, but a modern technological war,” he added, according to AFP, while also accusing Washington of trying to shift responsibility to Ukraine in connection with delayed arms deliveries.
