’Do You Want Them to Die Without Weapons?’ - Zelensky Responds to Calls to Lower Draft Age

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that the shortage of weapons and equipment—not personnel—is the main challenge facing the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Speaking to Sky News, he addressed calls from allies to lower the country's draft age to increase troop numbers.

He said that only two and a half of the ten brigades planned with Western allies have been fully equipped, despite agreements made over a year ago.

“They speak about mobilization, but the real problem is ten brigades our partners didn't equip. I asked them more than a year ago [to help with equipping] these brigades. We made a solution with the United States and with European allies, but for today, Europe and the US are totally equipping two and a half brigades,” Zelensky stated.

Zelensky attributed the delays to “bureaucracy” and decision-making that fails to prioritize urgent needs. He stressed that protecting lives is paramount, saying, “Some leaders told me you need younger [conscription age]. I said: what do you want them to do? To dye without your weapons?”

AP News reported Wednesday that the White House is allegedly pushing Ukraine to lower the conscription age to boost manpower, citing an unnamed senior Biden administration official, which echoed a statement by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Nov. 19.

Dmytro Lytvyn, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s communications adviser, responded to recent calls for Kyiv to lower the conscription age from 25 to 18 by saying that there are not enough weapons to begin with.

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“It doesn’t make sense to see calls for Ukraine to lower the mobilization age, presumably in order to draft more people, when we can see that previously announced equipment is not arriving on time. Because of these delays, Ukraine lacks weapons to equip already mobilized soldiers,” Lytvyn said on social media.

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In the same interview, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that a ceasefire could be achievable if NATO extends its protection to the parts of Ukraine under Kyiv’s control. This would allow for a temporary resolution to the war, with hopes of negotiating the return of occupied territories through diplomatic means in the future.

While Zelensky appeared to accept that the eastern regions currently under Russian control may remain outside such a deal for now, he stressed the urgency of bringing Ukraine’s controlled territories under NATO protection.

“If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,” he told Sky News. “We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way.”