Ukraine resists U.S. pressure to lower combat age amid shortages
Ukraine is experiencing a growing shortage of soldiers to engage in battle against Russian forces. According to AFP, Washington has been urging Ukrainian authorities for weeks to address this issue by mobilizing younger men. However, Kyiv is saying "no."
- We will not lower the mobilization age, - an anonymous senior Ukrainian government official told AFP. - The army must be technologically advanced and have enough weapons. We will not compensate, for example, for the lack of weapons or their range with the youth of the guys, he added.
AFP reports that for several weeks, Washington has been pushing Kyiv to mobilize men as young as 18 to address the soldier shortages in the Ukrainian army. Last month, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that Ukraine, according to Washington, "needs to do more, in our view, to firm up its lines in terms of the number of forces it has on the front lines."
On Wednesday, in a conversation with Reuters, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also emphasized the necessity of mobilizing more soldiers. He noted that the lack of sufficient personnel is becoming as critical for the Ukrainian army as providing it with enough weapons and ammunition.
"We are mobilizing more people than we can arm"
- These are very hard decisions, and I fully both understand that and respect that - admitted Blinken. - But for example, getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think, is necessary. Right now, 18- to 25-year olds are not in the fight - he added.
- We are now in the situation when we need more equipment to arm all the people that have already been mobilized, - the Ukrainian official responded to these demands, accusing the White House of trying to "shift the responsibility to Ukraine" for failures on the front.
- The army must be technologically advanced and have enough weapons. We will not compensate, for example, for the lack of weapons or their range with the youth of the guys, - the AFP source said.
Ukraine has already lowered the mobilization age for men once - from 27 to 25 years. This change was implemented at the beginning of 2024.
