Ukraine rejects US call to lower draft age to 18: Official
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Ukraine will not reduce its military mobilization age, despite Washington's calls to lower the threshold to 18 amid a recruitment crisis.
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Fellow soldiers carry the coffin of leading actor of the music and drama theatre Petro Velykiy, 48, who was killed in a battle with the Russian troops in Russia's Kursk region, during a farewell ceremony in Chernyhiv, Ukraine, on November 27, 2024. (AP)
A Ukrainian official announced that Kiev has rejected the US request to reduce the minimum age for military conscription from 25 to 18. "Our position is as transparent as possible: we will not lower the mobilization age," the anonymous Ukrainian officials were quoted as saying on Thursday.
Reports indicate that Ukraine's military is using extreme measures to compel draft dodgers to fight.
Ukrainian military recruiters have carried out several raids on restaurants and bars to apprehend fighting-age men, aiming to fill the ranks of a military already strained by widespread desertion.
To address its troop shortage, Kiev has been urging the West to provide more advanced military equipment, weapons, and ammunition.
The Ukrainian official said that "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."
"This is not the First World War, but a modern technological war," the official added, accusing the US-led Western countries of trying to "shift the responsibility to Ukraine" over delays in arms supplies.
Since then, the West has sent a large volume of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, despite ongoing warnings from Moscow about the futility of sending tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Kiev. On that note, US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to end the war once he assumes office in January.
US worried over Ukraine's manpower, resources shortage: WashPo
On December 2, according to The Washington Post, some in the current US administration are worried that no matter what aid is given to it, the Ukrainian army will be unable to deter Russia without more troops.
Officials say the Biden administration is engaged in a final effort to provide Ukraine with additional weapons worth billions of dollars, a massive undertaking that has raised internal concerns about its impact on depleting US stockpiles and draining resources from other areas.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said last week that the US is "absolutely" going to continue funding Ukraine, emphasizing that aid was not the only vital thing but so was manpower.
"In fact, we believe manpower is the most vital need they have. So we’re also ready to ramp up our training capacity if they take appropriate steps to fill out their ranks.”
