By HANNA ARHIROVA and SAMYA KULLAB (Associated Press)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has decreased the age at which men can be drafted from 27 to 25, showing the pressure the country's military is under after more than two years of war with Russia and the necessity of bringing in new conscripts to make up for the depleted ranks.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approved three new laws aimed at strengthening the country’s struggling forces, as they are trying to maintain their positions in the ongoing fighting that has depleted Ukraine’s troops and supplies of weapons and ammunition.
The new laws, which will also remove some draft exemptions and establish an online registry for recruits, could result in around 50,000 new troops joining the military, according to Oksana Zabolotna, an analyst with the Center for United Actions, a government watchdog in Kyiv.
This would be one-tenth of the 500,000 additional troops that Zelenskyy mentioned in December as a goal for the military to mobilize. However, after signing a security agreement with Finnish President Alexander Stubb in Kyiv on Wednesday, Zelenskyy stated that an audit requested by Ukraine’s newly appointed commander-in-chief revealed that the 500,000 figure was incorrect, partly because existing troops could be relocated from the rear to the front. He did not explain why this option had not been considered previously.
Zelenskyy said he was not prepared to publicly disclose how many new recruits the Ukrainian army will require.
“I can say that Russia is preparing to mobilize an additional 300,000 military personnel on June 1,” Zelenskyy informed reporters.
According to statistics from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the country’s military had nearly 800,000 troops in October. This figure does not include the National Guard or other units. In total, 1 million Ukrainians are in uniform, including approximately 300,000 who are serving on the front lines.
Conscription has been a sensitive issue due to Ukraine’s growing shortages of infantry and ammunition, which have given Russia an advantage on the battlefield. Russia's own issues with manpower and planning have so far prevented it from fully leveraging its edge.
Military analysts state that the average age of soldiers on both sides is over 40. Some Ukrainians are concerned that lowering the minimum conscription age to 25 and taking more young adults out of the workforce could have negative effects on the war-ravaged economy. This is why the draft age was not simply set at 18. However, the urgency has grown due to Kyiv's anticipation of a renewed offensive by Russian forces in the spring or summer.
The Russian military announced on Wednesday that it has seen a recent increase in enlistments, attributing it to public outrage over last month’s attack on a Moscow concert hall that resulted in the deaths of over 140 people. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that about 16,000 individuals have signed up in the last 10 days, although this claim could not be independently verified.
An affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the concert hall attack, but the Kremlin has alleged, without providing evidence, that Ukraine and the West were involved, despite their strong denials.
It took Zelenskyy nearly a year to approve the law that reduces the conscription age, which may show how unpopular the change is.
Antonina Piliuhina, a 49-year-old mother in Kyiv with a 21-year-old son, said she disagreed with lowering the draft age.
“I have only one son, I am a single mother,” Piliuhina stated. “Why did I raise him all these years, just for him to be taken away and possibly killed? I don’t want this.”
Mykola Petrovskyi, a 28-year-old social worker, expressed that while he loves Ukraine, he doesn’t believe it's right to send people to fight if they don’t want to.
“I am not prepared to go somewhere tomorrow and take lives,” Petrovskyi commented. “It’s not because I'm not a patriot, it's because I am not ready to kill. I am not meant for this. I am willing to help save lives, but not take them.”
But Metelya, a 37-year-old soldier using a pseudonym for security reasons, supports lowering the draft age. He has been fighting since 2014 and believes new soldiers are necessary.
“If an 18-year-old was ready to fight with us when we fought for Kyiv, then why can’t a 25-year-old man do the same?” he asked.
Zabolotna, the government watchdog analyst, stated that despite there being about 500,000 men aged 25 to 27, she estimates only about 50,000 would be added to the ranks.
“Some of them are not fit for service, some have left, some are in the reserve or have the right to deferment,” she noted.
The law’s introduction signals that Ukraine acknowledges it is in a war of attrition and competition for resources, according to Orysia Lutsevych, head of the Ukraine forum and deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Chatham House think tank in London.
Lutsevych remarked that Zelenskyy hoped for a swift end to the war, but realizes that Putin “is not just fighting Ukraine. His main enemy is the United States and its presence in Eastern Europe.”
The initial enthusiasm for fighting against the Kremlin’s forces has lessened, though public support for the war remains high.
Ukraine currently prohibits men under 60 from traveling abroad. Many Ukrainian men are avoiding the draft by staying at home or attempting to bribe their way out of the battle. Commanders say they don’t have enough soldiers to launch offensives, and barely enough to hold positions during intensifying Russian assaults.
Russia’s population is over three times larger than Ukraine’s, and President Vladimir Putin has shown a readiness to compel men to the front if there aren't enough volunteers.
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Keep up with AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
