Trump aide urges lower conscription age in Kiev amid troop struggles
2 Min Read
Ukraine reduced the mandatory conscription age during wartime from 27 to 25 years starting last May.
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Ukrainian soldiers attend a training in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, in this provided by the Ukraine's 65th Mechanised Brigade press service on Nov. 19, 2024 (AP)
A prominent advisor in US President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration has indicated that Ukraine would be requested to decrease the conscription age in order to bolster its fighting posture prior to any deal with Russia, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.
Michael Waltz, who Trump appointed National Security Advisor in the White House, suggested that expanding the conscription age could help Ukraine overcome its troop shortage.
Waltz said on ABC's This Week program on Sunday that “one of the things that we’ll be asking of the Ukrainians is — they have real manpower issues,” adding that “their draft age right now is 26 years old, not 18."
"I don’t think a lot of people realize that they could generate hundreds of thousands of new soldiers."
Ukraine reduced the mandatory conscription age during wartime from 27 to 25 years starting last May.
Although this appears to be at odds with the age mentioned by Waltz, his broader perspective was clear, stating that “it’s about seeing the frontlines stabilized, so that we can enter into some type of deal."
Trump has stated his intention to end Russia’s war with Ukraine even before his potential second term begins on January 20, sparking concerns that any resulting armistice might benefit Moscow.
In December, Trump also pledged to leverage US support for Ukraine as a bargaining tool to pressure Russia into negotiating a resolution to the conflict.
Meanwhile, Zelensky last week called on Ukraine’s allies to maintain their support for its war effort, urging during a meeting of defense ministers in Germany—attended by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin—not to "drop the ball now."
Last week, in one of his final acts before leaving office, President Joe Biden announced an additional $500 million in US military aid to Ukraine and imposed the most comprehensive and stringent sanctions yet on Russia’s oil trade.
Read more: EU fears Trump may reverse Biden's sanctions on Russia: Reports
